Federal Way Downtown station

Transit center in Federal Way, Washington

Federal Way Downtown

Sound Transit Express bus leaving the transit center in 2006

General information
Location| 31621 23rd Avenue South
Federal Way, Washington
United States
Coordinates| 47°19′03″N 122°18′17″W﻿ / ﻿47.31750°N 122.30472°W﻿ / 47.31750; -122.30472
Train operators| Sound Transit (planned)
Bus stands| 9
Bus operators|

* King County Metro
* Pierce Transit
* Sound Transit Express

Construction
Parking| Parking garage
Bicycle facilities| Bicycle lockers and racks
Accessible| Yes
History
Opened| February 11, 2006 (2006-02-11)
Rebuilt| 2020–2026 (planned)
Previous names| Federal Way Transit Center
Services
| Preceding station  |  Sound Transit | Following station

|
|

Future service
Star Lake

toward Lynnwood City Center

|  | 1 Line

Federal Way Extension

(2026)

|  | Terminus
Proposed service
Star Lake

toward Ballard

|  | 1 Line

Tacoma Dome Extension

(2032)

|  | South Federal Way

toward Tacoma Dome

Location

Federal Way Downtown station is a future light rail station at the site of the Federal Way Transit Center, a bus station in Federal Way, Washington, United States. The bus station opened in 2006 and has 1,190 parking spaces available in its parking garage and surface lots. It is served by King County Metro, Pierce Transit, and Sound Transit Express buses and is the southern terminus of the RapidRide A Line.[1][2] The transit center is located adjacent to The Commons at Federal Way shopping mall and Interstate 5, connected via a direct access ramp to its high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

A similar park-and-ride lot, on the south side of South 320th Street and east of the shopping mall, opened on November 5, 1979, using land donated by a local businessman.[3]

The bus bays were moved south to the new light rail station in March 2025. Light rail service is scheduled to begin in 2026.

## Light rail station

[edit]

As part of the expansion of Link light rail by Sound Transit, the transit center is planned to be the southern terminus of the Federal Way Link Extension, which would extend light rail south from its current terminus at Angle Lake station to Federal Way. A voter-approved plan passed in 2008 proposed funding to design, but not construct, a light rail station and other bus and parking improvements at the transit center. In 2016, the Sound Transit 3 plan approved a 2024 completion date for light rail to Federal Way Transit Center, as well as a light rail extension from Federal Way to Tacoma to be opened by 2030.[4]

The light rail station consists of an elevated platform along 23rd Avenue South approximately two blocks south of the current transit center. A second garage with 400 parking stalls was originally planned to be built, along with transit-oriented development on the site of a former shopping center.[5] Demolition of several vacated retail buildings at the site began in April 2020.[6] A series of 35 murals by local artists were installed on the construction site's fences, but were damaged in an act of vandalism in August 2020.[7] Sound Transit officials called the incident racially-motivated, as the murals were primarily celebrating the area's Pacific Islander, Black, and Asian communities.[8]

The new bus loop, directly under the light rail platform, opened on March 30, 2025; the old transit center was then closed for demolition.[9] As of 2024[update], there are 7,000 daily boardings at Federal Way Transit Center. Testing of light rail trains at Federal Way Downtown station began in early 2025.[10][11] Light rail service is expected to begin in 2026.[12][13]

The station will include permanent glass artwork designed by Catherine Widgery while the garage is covered in an art screen designed by Christine Nguyen.[14] A proposal by sculptor Donald Lipski to install a three-story piece with a circus elephant balancing on a tall tree trunk with a heron on its head was rejected by the Federal Way city council.[15][16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Guadette, Karen (February 8, 2006). "New lots will make it easier to park, ride". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
2. ^ "Federal Way Transit Center Boarding Locations". King County Metro. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
3. ^ "$1 million park-and-ride lot in Federal Way opens". The Seattle Times. November 7, 1979. p. H8.
4. ^ Demay, Daniel (June 2, 2016). "Sound Transit approves faster timeline for next phases of light rail". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
5. ^ "Federal Way Transit Center station area spotlight". Sound Transit. February 12, 2019. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
6. ^ Sullivan, Olivia (April 17, 2020). "Demolition of Federal Way buildings will make room for light rail". Federal Way Mirror. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
7. ^ "Public art murals slashed at Federal Way light rail construction site" (Press release). Sound Transit. September 1, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
8. ^ Lindblom, Mike (September 1, 2020). "Sound Transit repairs Federal Way murals the agency says were slashed in acts of racism". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
9. ^ Everly-Lang, Keelin (March 31, 2025). "New bus loop opens for Federal Way riders". Federal Way Mirror. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
10. ^ Jackson, David (March 12, 2025). "Train testing and a new bus loop — what's happening on the Federal Way Link Extension". The Platform. Sound Transit. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
11. ^ Sailor, Craig (December 22, 2024). "You'll soon see light-rail trains arriving in Federal Way. When will you be able to ride?". The News Tribune. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
12. ^ Lindblom, Mike (May 26, 2023). "Wetlands bridge adds delay and $72 million to light-rail project". The Seattle Times. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
13. ^ "A winter update on Link projects under construction". The Platform. Sound Transit. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
14. ^ Sullivan, Olivia (July 6, 2021). "Federal Way light rail extension is changing city's downtown core". Federal Way Mirror. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
15. ^ Kiley, Brendan (December 9, 2022). "Public art in Seattle's light rail stations has a deeper backstory than you'd think". The Seattle Times. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
16. ^ Sullivan, Olivia (November 5, 2020). "Federal Way City Council opposes possible elephant structure at light rail station". Kent Reporter. Retrieved November 8, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Media related to Federal Way Transit Center at Wikimedia Commons

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