Seaway Transit Center receives Greenroads Silver Certification

The $13.8 million Seaway Transit Center is the northern terminus for Community Transit’s Swift Green Line, a bus rapid transit line connecting Everett’s Boeing Field manufacturing area with the Canyon Park technology center in Bothell, Washington. The transit center is a regional hub for three transit agencies, and provides frequent and reliable transit service for a major job center.

"The Federal Transit Administration is pleased to recognize Community Transit’s Seaway Transit Center for earning a silver certification through the Greenroads Foundation," said Linda Gehrke, FTA Regional Administrator for Region 10. “This project exemplifies how planning and developing public infrastructure can create positive social, economic and environmental benefits for an entire community,” Gehrke added.

Seaway Transit Center earned 50 points for sustainable practices throughout design and construction, improving environmental quality for nearby habitats, and adding safe and accessible regional transit connectivity.

For Dan Jerome, Capital Project Manager at Community Transit, the Greenroads Certification process was a worthwhile effort. “This design and construction approach helped ensure that we thought through the project in every way possible to utilize our natural resources most efficiently, and to meet Community Transit’s ideals of low-maintenance, high sustainability, and public safety from every perspective,” he said.

The transit center opened in spring 2019 with 12 bus bays and capacity to expand. Located across the street from the Boeing-Everett plant, the county’s largest employment site, the transit center is served by Community Transit, Everett Transit and Sound Transit buses, along with a Boeing shuttle. Pedestrian and cyclist facilities include bicycle racks, state of the art shelters, and sidewalk areas separated from traffic with landscape buffers.

"Certification provides the public with the independent assurance that Community Transit is striving for more sustainable outcomes," said Kurt Wiseman, Level 3 Greenroads Sustainable Transport Professional and design engineer at Perteet, Inc., the lead engineering consulting firm on the project.

One of the project’s main sustainability features is a 10,836-square-foot stormwater detention vault beneath the transit center that captures and processes runoff to remove pollution and improve water quality before it enters the nearby wetland sanctuary. The team also planted 64 non-invasive trees that will grow to 15 feet or more, increasing the canopy area sevenfold by year five. Dark-sky friendly LED lighting reduces light pollution in the surrounding area.

“We designed the site and the stormwater system so that runoff into the downstream Narbeck Wetland Sanctuary would be similar to runoff leaving a natural forest. This location was critical to stormwater flow into the nearby waterways and Puget Sound,” said Jerome.

Funding for the project was provided by the Federal Transit Administration, a Washington State Regional Mobility Grant, and Community Transit. The City of Everett dedicated a portion of right-of-way along Seaway Blvd. as well. The design team, led by Perteet, Inc., included KPFF, IBI, Wood Harbinger, Otak, HWA, Convergint, TMCoating Consulting, Inc., the City of Everett, Snohomish County Public Utilities District, McKee & Schalka, The Granger Company, Universal Field Services, and Contract Land Staff. The prime contractor was Interwest Construction, Inc.

Currently, there are over 130 registered Greenroads Projects valued at over $34 billion in 11 states and 8 countries in the world. This project is the second transit center to earn Greenroads Certification. Community Transit’s Smokey Point Transit Center in Arlington, Washington was the first.

ABOUT SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION BOARD

Established in 2010, Sustainable Transportation Board (Greenroads Foundation) is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, which advances sustainability education and initiatives for transportation infrastructure. As the developer of the Greenroads Rating System, the Board manages the sustainability certification process for surface transportation construction projects in the U.S. and internationally.