Lacey/Thurston County -- It’s been years in the making, but the expansion of the most-used park and ride lot in Thurston County is now complete and a cause for celebration. On Wednesday, September 30, representatives of the Washington State Department of Transportation, Intercity Transit and the City of Lacey will celebrate the completion of the Martin Way Park and Ride project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The public is invited to attend the ceremonies, which will take place at the park and ride lot at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
“Park and ride capacity is a problem throughout Washington, so we are proud to celebrate when projects like this are completed,” said Paula Hammond, Washington Transportation Secretary. “In many urban areas, there is more demand for parking at key transit stops than what is available. In this case, the project doubled the size of the lot.”
The facility, located on Martin Way adjacent to Interstate 5 at exit 109 in Lacey, received a much-needed facelift with the number of parking stalls more than doubling to 318 spaces for bus, carpool and vanpool users. Additional improvements include a new transit island with bus shelters and information kiosk, sidewalks and pedestrian access, lighting, security cameras and environmentally sustainable landscaping. The total project cost is $2.795 million, which includes the value of the state DOT property ($906,000) used for expansion. The construction was funded through a state Regional Mobility Grant of $1.259 million and a local match of $630,000 from Intercity Transit.
Commuter demand at the Martin Way lot has exceeded capacity for years. The need became acute in 2005 following the closure of another popular I-5 park and ride lot to the north for retail development in the Hawks Prairie area. Since then the issue has intensified with rising gas prices, a struggling economy and record transit use.
“With increased congestion, climate change concerns and pocketbook issues, more people have been turning to transit, carpools and vanpools,” states Tom Green, chairman of the Intercity Transit Authority. “Park and ride lots are an important component to making ridesharing work in the daily lives of area commuters.”
The lot is served by both Intercity Transit and Pierce Transit commuter express service, connecting Olympia and Lacey with destinations in Lakewood, downtown Tacoma, Tacoma Mall and the Tacoma Dome Station. Daily weekday ridership on this express service averages more than 700 boardings each day. A total of 22 bus trips travel to and from the park and ride each weekday, 18 on Saturday, 10 on the Sunday. Transit officials estimate about 120 passenger boardings onto express buses occur at the park and ride lot daily. Additionally, Intercity Transit’s local Route 62 - one the system’s highest performing routes - makes stops adjacent to the lot. Many commuters using vanpools and carpools also regularly use the facility.
A recent study conducted by Intercity Transit in 2008 indicated the facility largely serves commuters who reside in Thurston County and travel north to destinations in Pierce and King Counties. A license plate study confirmed the majority of users parking at the facility reside in the Lacey area, but also Tumwater, Olympia, Yelm and areas throughout outlying Thurston County. A smaller percentage of users reside further away in Mason, Grays Harbor, Lewis and Pierce counties.
“Making it easy for people to get out of their cars and share the ride is just plain smart, “states Tom Green. “Every time someone shares the ride, it’s good for their wallet, good for the economy, and good for our environment.”
There are four other park and ride lots for Thurston County commuters:
• Lacey – Amtrak Centennial Station on Yelm Hwy. (for bus, carpools, vanpools);
• Grand Mound – Grand Mound at SR12 and I-5 (for carpools and vanpools);
• West Olympia – Mud Bay Rd and Madrona Beach Rd. near Hwy. 101; (for carpools and vanpools) and
• West Thurston County – Summit Lake Rd. and SR8 (for carpools and vanpools).
A new park and ride lot in the Hawks Prairie vicinity atop a portion of the former Thurston County landfill is currently in early development by Intercity Transit, Thurston County and WSDOT. It is slated to open by 2012.
During the past year and a half, the K-Mart on Sleater-Kinney and the Wal-Mart at Hawks Prairie allowed commuters to park in their lots to handle spill-over demand. “We’re grateful to K-Mart and Wal-Mart for making parking available to commuters during this time,” commented Lacey Mayor Graeme Sackrison.
For more information about area park and ride locations, contact www.wsdot.wa.gov/choices/parkride. For general commuter information in Thurston County, contact www.intercitytransit.com or call 360.786.1881.
Commuters looking for a carpool or vanpool can call 1-888-814-1300 or visit rideshareonline.com for instant ridematching. Carpooling and vanpooling assistance is also available from Intercity Transit by calling 360.786.8800.