Transit plan spurs downtown development
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle) - by Brad Broberg Contributing Writer
On the road to livelier downtowns, several South End cities are hitching rides with Sound Transit.
The regional transportation agency's Sound Move project will pour millions of dollars into Auburn, Kent, Federal Way and Renton during the next few years. Each city hopes rail stations, bus hubs and improved freeway access will give their downtown redevelopment plans more steam.
It's no accident that the two activities -- improving transportation service and revitalizing downtowns -- are occurring simultaneously. That's exactly what the state Growth Management Act had in mind.
"All of the regional growth strategies ... look at encouraging growth in centers and linking centers with transportation," said Bob Sokol, principal planner in Auburn.
Approved by voters in 1996, the $3.9 billion Sound Move plan consists of three legs -- commuter-rail service on existing tracks between Seattle and Tacoma, an improved regional bus system and a new light-rail line between Seattle and SeaTac.
Although the sexiest of the three -- light rail -- won't reach Auburn, Kent, Federal Way or Renton, other Sound Transit projects will make their presence felt.
Auburn and Kent are gaining commuter rail stations. Federal Way and Renton will receive bus hubs -- also known as transit centers -- and new HOV ramps. Parking garages will follow in Auburn, Kent and Federal Way.
And all of it is being built in each city's downtown.
It's the kind of public investment that occurs once a generation -- if that often -- and cities have hired economic development directors, tweaked downtown zoning and beefed up infrastructure to capitalize on the momentum.
"We thought, `This going to only come around once. Let's do it right,' " said Brent McFall, director of operations in Kent, which adopted a new downtown plan last year.
Kent is not alone. Auburn is rewriting its downtown plan, Federal Way has launched a downtown revitalization project and Renton is continuing to pursue a downtown strategy adopted in 1993.
"People have this view of the suburban cities as being amorphous," said Sokol. "But I think suburban cities are looking to find an identity for themselves."
Caroline Feiss, a regional transportation consultant, cautioned against expecting too much.
"Every city that gets a station is not going to turn into another Bellevue," she said. "I know several cities think a ... station is going to answer every economic question they have. That's not true."
Still, cities like Auburn are excited about the prospect of hundreds of people descending on their downtowns to catch a train or board a bus.
"We're definitely one of those cities that recognizes the direct link between downtown and commuter rail stations," said Sokol. "There are going to be a lot of new people coming to downtown Auburn who weren't coming here before."
Construction of the Auburn and Kent stations will begin this spring. They are two of eight stops along the 40-mile line from Tacoma to Seattle, where trains will begin running along existing Burlington Northern Santa Fe tracks later this year.
At first, the stations will consist of little more than covered platforms and outdoor parking lots. However, by the end of 2000, parking garages and pedestrian plazas will join the stations.
Master plans for the two garages -- which are being built jointly by the cities and Sound Transit -- include space for retail uses on the ground floor and pedestrian bridges overhead linking the garages to the stations.
McFall agrees with Feiss that the train stations are not a panacea and that it may take awhile for private development to catch fire around them. However, they are "another tool in the tool box" for cities trying to create livelier downtowns.
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