LYNNWOOD — The I-5 interchange at 164th Street SW is a notoriously busy one, and the nearby Ash Way Park and Ride reflects that crunch.
Parking spots can be hard to find, with the lot routinely filled by 7 a.m. on weekdays. And it’s not all that easy to get in and out of — especially for some buses at peak hours.
Sound Transit rider Jeff Valluzzi commutes by bus from downtown Everett to downtown Bellevue on Route 532, which is operated by Community Transit.
The ride slows way down at the Ash Way Park and Ride.
“The bus has to completely exit the freeway and drive through several heavily congested intersections before arriving at the stop, after which point it turns around and travels back along the same path,” Valluzzi said. “It can take the bus upwards of 30 minutes to get through the stop, especially during the evening commute.”
Community Transit is eyeing a solution for the southbound direction, while Sound Transit retains long-term plans that address the northbound direction.
So far, however, they remain in the idea phase.
Community Transit would like to put a bus stop on the exit ramp from southbound I-5 to 164th Street.
“If this project moves forward, it will allow southbound Route 532 customers to get on or off the bus from the freeway stop, then the bus will continue back onto I-5,” spokesman Martin Munguia said.
The stop is not in the agency’s capital plan. It also would require a partnership with the Washington State Department of Transportation, which doesn’t have any actual plans for it either.
“There have been preliminary discussions,” Munguia said. “Before this concept can become a reality, there would need to be project funding, engineering, design and construction — not just of the stop but of the walkway to Ash Way Park and Ride.”
Buses serving Ash Way do get help from a pair of direct-access ramps. But that help is limited —the ramps only serve buses exiting northbound I-5 or entering southbound I-5.
The southbound ramp plops buses directly into the carpool lane at the center of the freeway. That helps routes staying on I-5, but doesn’t give enough time for buses that must merge quickly right to get onto southbound I-405, including Route 532.
Sound Transit still lists a northbound direct-access ramp back onto I-5 among its long-term considerations. Snohomish County also is studying the idea as it addresses the east-west flow of traffic in the area.
But the focus for the coming decades remains on light rail.
Voters in November approved the Sound Transit 3 package, which is expected to extend light rail to Everett by 2036. The six new stops would include the Ash Way Park and Ride.
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