Two new-look transit centers

Narrator Says:

They’ve been works in progress for quite a while, and now serve as safer and more modern transportation hubs in their respective parts of King County.

We start in Redmond, where Metro transit recently completed work on a three-floor parking garage at the Redmond Transit Center.

The garage caps off work on a facility that features six bus bays and serves as an example of efforts to create more ‘Transit-Oriented Development’, with housing and commercial space located to the east.

The transit center has actually been operating since February of 2008, when county leaders assembled to commemorate its opening.

The then brand-new facility replaced an antiquated one built in 1978.

Downtown Redmond is now a transit center Metro’s leaders are proud of and riders are glad to have.

King County Metro Transit Deputy General Manager Jim Jacobson Says:

Well, today we're celebrating the opening of the new Redmond Park-and-Ride lot across the street behind me. It's been under construction for the last year or two. It replaces a past surface lot we had and kind of is the last step in the evolution of the way the transit system works in downtown Redmond where we've moved from a decades-old Park-and-Ride lot that was on the surface here in downtown to a new transit center that was opened here last year along with a new park-and-ride lot. So we were able to free up some property for the development of high-density housing.

King County Metro Transit Design & Construction Manager Randy Witt Says

Well, it fits in with Redmond's urban planning design. It ties in the transit center with the parking lot so that they fit together. It's across the street on both sides of the street, it looks the same. It's really a signature element. When you get here and you see this, you know you're in the transit area, you know you can catch a bus. But it also ties with the architecture of the buildings around.

Metro rider Kelly Roestel Says:

I'm really glad it's open, you have this nice transit center and now you have a park-and-ride to go with it, so it's good to finally have it open, compared to the one that was over there by the police department.

<<Sounds of marching band>>

Narrator Says:

About 25 miles to the southwest, the citizens of Burien gathered to celebrate the opening of their new transit center.

It was a collaborative effort between metro and the city of Burien to integrate the transit center into the city’s revitalization efforts.

Like Redmond’s new transit center, Burien’s is an upgrade in many areas.

County leaders were on-hand for the opening, and shared their impressions of the new transit hub in Burien.

King County Metro Transit General Manager Kevin Desmond Says:

It's a great facility, we're really proud, we opened it a couple of weeks ago. It serves 12 different bus routes; you can get all over the county. In February you'll be able to take a quick trip to the Tukwila Light Rail Station as well. We've got, as I said, 12 bus routes, about 550 trips per day, almost 4,500 passenger boardings. It's going to be a real hub for this part of King County. We replaced a facility that was right on the street side, there were a lot of problems with traffic, other issues, security issues, getting it off street with really good circulation for the buses. Nice facility, good security features, it's a real improvement both for the city as well as to our transit system.

King County Department of Transportation Director Harold Taniguchi Says:

Yeah, actually we're standing across from the opening of the brand new King County Library and Burien City Hall so there's a lot of people down here having a great time, what a beautiful day for all of this.

King County Councilmember Dow Constantine Says:

All six bus bays at this transit center are located off-street to provide safety for the people of Burien. The transit center features covered waiting areas and benches with wind screens. The adjacent park-and-ride lot has room for 340 vehicles and as a good start, five charging stations for those electric vehicles you're all going to go out and buy. The transit center is well lit, and riders are protected by around-the-clock monitored security. The transit center is served by both Metro and Sound Transit bus routes providing connections to major destinations including Sea-Tac Airport, Southcenter, Renton, Bellevue, the University District and downtown Seattle.

Narrator Says:

The design of the new Burien Transit Center included input from residents, business owners, and city staff.

This group helped incorporate public comment into the planning and construction of the transit center.