CATHCART — The Snohomish County Council on Wednesday authorized buying a church property in the Cathcart area for a future Community Transit park-and-ride lot.
This is a long-term proposition, so don’t expect anything concrete to materialize for years after the projected March 31 closing date. In fact, the area isn’t even inside CT’s current service area.
“We think a park-and-ride at this location would be ideal for service operating up and down Highway 9,” CT spokesman Martin Munguia wrote in an email. “There is no timeline for this project.”
The land includes about 16.5 acres on Highway 9 just south of Cathcart Way. The land adjoins a county solid waste facility.
The Canyon Creek Church of the Assemblies of God owns it now. The county has negotiated a $745,000 sale price.
The County Council has scheduled a hearing at 10:30 a.m. March 11 to consider buying it.
Community Transit oversees nearly four-dozen park-and-rides in its service area, which extends through some of the most populated areas of Snohomish County. Notable exceptions are along the Highway 9 corridor, and in the city of Everett, which runs its own bus service.
County voters in 2008 turned down a ballot measure to annex the Clearview and Maltby areas along Highway 9 for CT service.
There are no immediate plans to seek another vote on a service annexation for Clearview or Maltby, Munguia said.
The Cathcart lot is mentioned in the transit agency’s long-range plan, which looks out to 2030.
While a park-and-ride lot for Cathcart remains a concept for the time being, two others are in the works. When they materialize depends on the Legislature authorizing the funding.
The Seaway Transit Center would centralize CT, Everett Transit and King County Metro stops at Seaway Boulevard and 75th Street SW, across from the Boeing factory’s main gate. The center also would serve as the northern terminus for a planned second line of the Swift bus, which would take passengers to and from Bothell.
There’s no extra parking included in the Seaway plans. To make it happen, CT would have to buy land from the Snohomish County Public Utility District.
CT also hopes to get state funding for a Mukilteo park-and-ride lot. The facility would include about 200 spaces. The agency would lease Paine Field property along Bernie Webber Drive. Mukilteo is the largest city in CT’s service area without its own park-and-ride. The city of Mukilteo and the county are partners on the Paine Field project.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
