The elevated light rail station was built as part of the Lynnwood Link Extension from 2019 to 2024. It opened on August 30, 2024.
Location
Mountlake Terrace station is located adjacent east of Interstate 5 near its interchange with 236th Street Southwest. It is west of Mountlake Terrace's city center.
History
Community Transit opened a 400-stall park and ride lot at Interstate 5 and 236th Street Southwest on April 12, 1983.[1] It was initially served by Community Transit and King County Metro commuter service,[2] until the latter dropped service to Snohomish County in June 1989.[3][4] The new lot regularly reached capacity beginning in the 1990s and was supplemented with leased spaces at three nearby churches to provide overflow parking.[5] City officials proposed a garage with integrated housing and retail, but later dropped them from plans.[5][6] Construction began in late 2007 with the closure of the existing lower lot, which was replaced by spaces leased from local businesses.[6]
The parking garage at Mountlake Terrace Transit Center was dedicated on February 20, 2009, and opened three days later.[7][8] It includes 32 solar panels on its facade and was built with recycled materials; the garage also has glass art created by local high school students under the direction of artist Jerry Newcomb.[9] The freeway flyer stop, located in the median of Interstate 5, opened on March 20, 2011. It was immediately served by Sound Transit Express and Community Transit commuter routes connecting Snohomish County to Downtown Seattle.[10] The median flyer stop was first proposed in a 1996 report by Sound Transit and WSDOT.[11] The garage was also planned as a precursor to a future light rail station,[12] which was approved as part of Sound Transit 2 in 2008.[13]
Sound Transit approved a route along Interstate 5 for the Lynnwood Link Extension in April 2015, including a station at the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center.[14] An alternative option would have bypassed the city entirely by using State Route 99 or required an east–west section to serve the transit center from the corridor.[15] Light rail construction at the transit center began in September 2019, with the closure of the surface parking lot for construction staging. The light rail platforms were built to the east of the bus bays and were opened as part of the Lynnwood Link Extension, carrying the 1 Line in August 2024 and 2 Line in 2025.[16] The freeway station bays were closed for five months beginning in July 2020 for light rail construction, with commuter routes bypassing Mountlake Terrace replaced by a temporary fare-free shuttle route to downtown.[17]
The main bus loop at the transit center was closed in March 2021 and replaced with a temporary loop to the east of the future light rail station.[18] The new main bus loop opened on March 30, 2024.[19] Light rail service at Mountlake Terrace station began on August 30, 2024.[20]
Transit-oriented development
Beginning in 2018, the former site of the Evergreen Elementary School just south of the station was redeveloped into a three-building complex with 600 apartments and retail spaces.[21] The city government is also planning a "town center" in the area east of the light rail station.[22] A plaza and new pedestrian path through Veterans Memorial Park to the city hall and library is also planned.[23]
Layout and services
Mountlake Terrace station has two entrances to the east of its parking garage and primary bus bays; the entrances are on the north and south sides of 236th Street Southwest and are connected to the elevated platform by stairs, escalators, and elevators. The transit center's bus bays are located adjacent to the parking garage, on 236th Street Southwest, and in the median of Interstate 5. The station has 890 total parking stalls in the garage and an adjacent surface lot.[24]
