City of Puyallup

Sound Transit

The downtown Puyallup Sound Transit Commuter Rail Station, opened in 2002. remains a major attraction for local commuters. The Puyallup Station has the highest boarding numbers of any Sound Transit Commuter Rail station. Given high demand, Sound Transit expanded the number of commuter train runs in mid-2008. The City continues to work cooperatively with Sound Transit to address commuter parking needs and encourage downtown transit-oriented development. Sound Transit’s pending “ST2” capital project, a 1998 voter-approved bond, has approximately $60 million earmarked for new parking and related access facilities/services in the downtown Puyallup area which will also stimulate public-private development sites. Furthermore, in 2008, the City was awarded a competitive grant (LIFT) to partially fund the design and construct the associated infrastructure for rapid mass transit and transit oriented development. City leaders and staff are currently working on policy language and implementation strategy to move towards breaking ground in the relative near horizon. Related projects include EZRA, a rapid transit link connecting the South Hill regional center with the Downtown train station.

In a multi-party cooperative project, the Puyallup Fairgrounds “Red Lot” has been improved in 2010 to serve as a Sound Transit satellite parking facility, providing additional parking for the downtown commuter station. Following construction, this project will open for commuter use in late 2010. Phase I of the lot will consist of 219 parking stalls.