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1 of 16 Funding Application Competition Regional FTA Application Type Main Competition Status submitted Submitted: April 27th, 2020 4:27 PM Prepopulated with screening form? No Project Information 1. Project Title South Tacoma & Lakewood Station Access Improvements 2. Regional Transportation Plan ID 4086, 4085 3. Sponsoring Agency Sound Transit 4. Cosponsors N/A 5. Does the sponsoring agency have "Certification Acceptance" status from WSDOT? N/A 6. If not, which agency will serve as your CA sponsor? N/A 7. Is your agency a designated recipient for FTA funds? Yes 8. Designated recipient concurrence N/A Contact Information 1. Contact name Tyler Benson 2. Contact phone 206-903-7372 3. Contact email [email protected] Project Description 1. Project Scope This Project will complete preliminary engineering and NEPA environmental review for station access improvements at the South Tacoma and Lakewood Sounder stations. These improvements will include, but not limited to, sidewalks, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, lighting and other station area enhancements to improve safety and accessibility for transit riders and the community. The work will also include analyzing transit use around the stations to inform integration of multi-modal improvements and evaluation of parking improvement options at the stations. The scope also includes the development and implementation of an external engagement strategy, including public engagement activities for targeted outreach to underserved communities in the project area. Sound Transit and the cities of Lakewood and Tacoma will identify the infrastructure needs in and around each station that are most critical to removing barriers, improving safety, promoting TOD and improving access to station-area communities. promoting TOD and improving access to station-area communities. 2 of 16 Summary of Benefits: • Improves nonmotorized and transit access to/within two Regionally Designated Growth Centers; • Benefits an estimated 745 riders per day or ~28% of the 2,700 Sounder daily riders projected to use the stations by 2040; • Reduces an estimated 18,625 VMT per weekday or 4.8 million VMT annually; • Improves safety and supports TOD development around the stations. The PE and NEPA work for both the S Tacoma and Lakewood stations will be conducted under a single contract, simultaneously, which is the reason this is being treated as a single project. 2. Project Justification, Need, or Purpose The Purpose of this project is to improve safe and convenient access to the Stations and surrounding communities. There are currently 1,277 daily Sounder riders using the Lakewood and South Tacoma stations. By 2040, 2,700 Sounder riders are expected to use the stations. This Project will help current and future Sounder riders as well as Pierce Transit, ST Express and Intercity Transit riders safely and conveniently access the stations. The project also improves connectivity from the stations to the communities around the stations. Sound Transit’s Sounder South line gives Pierce and South King County residents a dependable, traffic-free commute option between Lakewood and Seattle, and it alleviates congestion on the congested I-5 and SR-167 corridors. These corridors experienced major increases in delay between 2015 and 2017 —15.6% on I-5 and 27.4% on SR 167. Sounder South service has been successfully growing since 2000 and now runs 26 trips each weekday between Tacoma and Seattle (eight of those trips continue to South Tacoma and Lakewood), with trains running every 20 minutes during peak commuting hours. Sounder South now serves 16,359 riders each weekday. On some of the busiest trains, it can be difficult to find a seat. Peak period trains now carry an average of more than 875 people. This Project is a key part of a larger effort to expand Sounder south capacity. Station access improvements, especially focusing on nonmotorized and transit access improvements, will enable more people to benefit from the travel time and reliability of Sounder service. The Project also helps connect the Stations with the communities they serve. Access improvements at the Lakewood and S Tacoma stations will likelycould include the addition of missing sidewalks and bike lanes within a quarter mile of the station areas, additional bicycle facilities at stations, additional bus stops and shelters, improving at-grade crossings, and evaluation of increasing parking capacity. Currently the 601 parking stalls at the Lakewood Station are full at 8am on weekdays, and the South Tacoma Station’s 220 parking spaces are 93% occupied. Forecasting ridership to 2040, demand from riders exceeds the capacity of the current system – especially during the busiest commute hours. Future ridership estimates show around 2,700 additional riders using these two stations each weekday. By improving access and efficiency at these two stations, this project will provide system capacity to meet rising demand. Benefits of this project include: • Directly improves nonmotorized and transit access to/within two Regionally Designated Growth Centers, South Tacoma (Tacoma Mall) and Lakewood, and facilitates the planned Sounder South capacity expansion through improved accessibility at and around stations to accommodate future ridership growth. • Improving access from the station to the surrounding community –including major employers and critical services, such as St Claire’s Hospital in Lakewood. • Improves access for new development – including “Lakewood Landing,” a redevelopment of a WSDOT maintenance site near the Lakewood Station. • Reducing VMT on some of Pierce County’s most congested corridors. The Project is estimated to be used by 745 Sounder riders each weekday or about 28% of the 2,700 riders expected to use the stations. (An average of 28% of South Sounder riders use non-SOV modes to access the stations). • Given the average trip length of a Sounder rider is approximately 25 miles, this project is expected to reduce 18,625 VMT reduced per weekday or 4.8 million VMT annually. Project Location 1. Project Location The Lakewood Station is located at 11424 Pacific Hwy SW Lakewood, WA 98499. The South Tacoma Station is located at 5650 S Washington St. Tacoma, WA 98409, by the intersection of S Tacoma Way and S 56th St 2. Please identify the county(ies) in which the project is located. (Select all that apply.) Pierce 3. Crossroad/landmark nearest the beginning of the project The Lakewood Station is located at 11424 Pacific Hwy SW Lakewood, WA 98499. The South Tacoma Station is located at 5650 S Washington St. Tacoma, WA 98409, by the intersection of Tacoma Station is located at 5650 S Washington St. Tacoma, WA 98409, by the intersection of 3 of 16 S Tacoma Way and S 56th St 4. Crossroad/landmark nearest the end of the project The Lakewood Station is located at 11424 Pacific Hwy SW Lakewood, WA 98499. The South Tacoma Station is located at 5650 S Washington St. Tacoma, WA 98409, by the intersection of S Tacoma Way and S 56th St 5. Map and project graphics South_Tacoma_and_Lakewood_Station_Access_Improvement_MAP.pdf Plan Consistency 1. Is the project specifically identified in a local comprehensive plan? Yes 2. If yes, please indicate the (1) plan name, (2) relevant section(s), and (3) page number where it can be found. This project is included in the ST3 South Sounder Capital Improvements Program. Program elements include platform extensions, track and signal upgrades and other related infrastructure to facilitate additional capacity, and access elements such as improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists, buses, and private vehicles, prioritized per Sound Transit’s System Access Policy. Details include pedestrian improvements within one-quarter mile of stations, bicycle storage infrastructure, bicycle access improvements within one-half mile of the stations, and transit speed and reliability improvements on routes connecting to the stations. Both Lakewood and Tacoma’s comprehensive plans and zoning policies show strong support for this project, and actively facilitate dense development around Sounder station areas. This project directly supports Lakewood’s Policy LU-27.3, which says the City will, “Improve pedestrian and vehicular connections across the railroad tracks, Pacific Highway SW, and I-5,” to create a more accessible station area. [See PDF pages 74 and 75 of the plan] This overlaps precisely with the scope of the project. Goal LU-25 of Lakewood’s plan describes the Lakewood Station area as “the multi-modal commuter hub of Lakewood,” and policies LU-25.1 through LU.25-5 spell out the City’s plans to coordinate with transit agencies such as Sound Transit to improve its density and connectivity through transit-oriented development, and developing the station area as a multi-modal commuter hub linked to other modes via connecting infrastructure. Lakewood’s Policy LU-26.1 states that the City will, “Coordinate and promote the development of the area around the Lakewood Station to create a distinctive urban node that provides for a rich mixture of uses including regional offices, major institutions, high-density urban residences, neighborhood businesses, and open space.” [See PDF pages 74 and 75 of the plan] On page 124, the Plan summarizes a “Focus Area Design Plan” for the Lakewood Station District, in Plan section 4.5.2. It cites the “potential for major land use change as the private market responds to the opportunities presented by increased transportation options,” and states that, “The Comprehensive Plan defines the Lakewood Station district as a transit- oriented neighborhood with higher density residential uses, medically oriented businesses, and other commercial uses responding to increased transportation access in the area.” This project also directly supports the goals laid out on page 47 of the Urban Form section Tacoma’s Comprehensive Plan. These state: • Goal UF–9 Promote future residential and employment growth in coordination with transit infrastructure and service investments. • Policy UF–9.1 Encourage transit-oriented development and transit supportive concentrations of jobs and housing, and multimodal connections, at and adjacent to high- frequency and high-capacity transit stations.