Mercer Island Transit Interchange

Following the March 19, 2019 Study Session with Sound Transit and King County Metro staff, Council requested additional information and analysis of Sound Transit’s Mercer Island Transit Interchange Operational and Configuration Study (Study). KPG, the City’s on-call traffic engineering firm, will provide a review of the Study and recommendations for station access improvements including Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements and Signal Phasing Improvements for Pedestrians at a City Council Study Session on April 30, 2019 at 6:00pm at Mercer Island City Hall.

Responses to the list of Council questions from the March 19 Study Session along with an extensive FAQ are now available.

• ST-Metro Response to Councilmember Questions at March 19 Meeting

• Metro and ST FAQs March 13

At the March 19 Council Meeting, representatives from Metro and Sound Transit provided a lot of insight into bus operations and roundabout construction. We received a number of questions during that night's 90-minute session, as well as others that continue to come in via this site. We are gathering data from the agencies and posting the responses as soon as possible...

You can watch the meeting footage here on the Council YouTube Channel -- Thank you!

In advance of a March 19 Council Study Session (meeting materials posted here), the City is gathering questions from the public about the future operations of the transit interchange that will allow regional buses to exchange passengers with East Link Light Rail trains (starting in 2023). Please use the Ask a Question Tab to submit yours, or check the FAQ page.

• Traffic/Safety Enhancements and Last Mile Solutions: $5.3 million to address vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian access issues resulting from the closure of the Center Roadway and fund “last/first-mile solutions” that enable Islanders to access transit without driving.
• Parking: $4.6 million that will provide approximately 100 additional commuter parking stalls during the East Link construction period (2017-2023), and will fund construction of new commuter parking for residents.
• Bus-Rail Integration: No bus facility will be built on 80^th Avenue - instead, all pick-up and drop-offs will continue to occur on North Mercer Way and bus volumes will be comparable to today.

The Settlement Agreement further details the following points of agreement for the transit interchange:

• A roundabout at N Mercer Way & 77th Ave, and no substantial bus operations/layovers along 80th Ave
• Future bus volumes less than existing bus volumes
• No routing of regional buses through MI Town Center
• Limited occurrences of long bus layovers
• No bus idling