Jeff Clark,
Deputy Executive Director of Financial Operations/Controller
Publish Date
August 15, 2024
An online open house is now available to learn more about the Kent Station Parking and Access Improvements project. When complete in early 2027, a new garage at East James Street and Railroad Avenue North, and a new surface parking lot at Railroad Avenue and Smith Street, will add over 400 new parking stalls at the station to serve Sounder S Line passengers and users of Sound Transit Express and King County Metro services.
The design has changed since the last open house in 2022. Current plans now include a 4-story garage structure, two vehicle access points, a pedestrian entry with glass canopy at the southwest corner and an arrival plaza south of the garage.
Sound Transit is also building a new bus layover space for King County Metro along Railroad Avenue North. It will be east of the new garage where a passenger parking lot is now. The facility will have space for 10+ buses, infrastructure for zero-emission charging and a rest area for bus drivers.
Previously, Sound Transit added 14 new smart bicycle lockers (reservable by the hour) at Kent Station. The agency also funded an improved pedestrian crossing at 2nd Avenue North and James Street. The improvements include a crosswalk, raised median, flashing beacon and ramps. The city of Kent completed that work in 2021.
The online open house provides information on the garage design, with renderings (subject to refinement or change), and potential construction impacts.
Additionally, in-person information is available:
Sound Transit’s Sounder S Line train service gives South King County residents a dependable, traffic-free commute to and from Seattle. The trip, with Wi-Fi, from Kent Station to Seattle’s King Street Station takes about 30 minutes.
