Community Transit

Mountlake Terrace Transit Center Gets Green Globes

May 3, 2012

Electric vehicle charging stations open May 5, latest green installment

Snohomish County, Wash. – Featuring solar panels that feed into the regional power grid, low-efficiency lighting that saves $8,000 a year and a four-story, five-level parking garage built with recycled concrete and other materials, the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center has received Green Globes certification for sustainable building. Green Globes is a designation by the Green Building Initiative for buildings built to standards that reduce environmental impact, save energy and lower maintenance costs.

The Mountlake Terrace Transit Center opened in 2009 with a 660-stall parking garage and 220-stall surface parking lot. The five-level garage was built to accommodate growing transit demand in the south Snohomish County area. After the Sound Transit Freeway Station opened last spring, allowing Seattle commuter buses to pick up passengers without driving into the parking lot, more bus riders flocked to the transit center. On many days, the 880-stall lot is full by mid-morning.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, May 5, Community Transit and the City of Mountlake Terrace will hold a grand opening celebration for 10 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations that the city has installed at the transit center. The charging stations were funded by a federal grant that is being used to create a network of electric charging stations along I-5.

U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen will be there. Larsen is a former Community Transit board member and his 2nd District will soon include Mountlake Terrace. Larsen helped Community Transit secure federal money used to build the sustainable transit center.

When Community Transit began designing the Mountlake Terrace Transit Center in 2005, green considerations were made, including building materials, lighting and site development. The facility has a number of environmentally friendly features, such as solar panels to generate electricity for the regional power grid. The solar panels and some of the supporting materials were donated by the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. There is a kiosk at the transit center that has a computer monitor displaying the output of the panels.

The garage uses energy-efficient lighting fixtures and white painted ceilings to reflect the lighting for maximum effect. The Snohomish County PUD estimates that the more efficient lighting saves more than $8,000 per year compared to standard lighting. The concrete and steel used to build the garage include recycled materials. A seasonal stormwater creek on the property that was enclosed in a culvert has been daylighted, and native landscaping has been added to the site. No trees in neighboring Veterans Memorial Park were removed for this project.

The Green Building Initiative provides environmental assessment and certification for commercial buildings, including unoccupied buildings like transit facilities. Other buildings that have achieved Green Globes certification include the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark.; Walter Cronkite School of Journalism in Phoenix, Ariz.; and City Center Plaza in Bellevue, Wash.

Community Transit is responsible for providing transportation options for Snohomish County residents, including bus and paratransit service, vanpool and ridesharing options. Call Community Transit at (425) 353-7433 or (800) 562-1375 for bus information, or (888) 814-1300 for carpool or vanpool information, or go to www.communitytransit.org. You can also read our blog at www.communitytransit.blogspot.com, visit our Facebook page or see us on YouTube. Support local businesses and Community Transit when you Buy Local for Transit; read more at www.communitytransit.org/buylocal.

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