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188th Street freeway interchange. Also, with the Tukwila Urban Center access improvement project,
<br />bottlenecks in the Klickitat area and near the mall are expected to improve.
<br />Major north -south arterials through the study area are Southcenter Parkway and West Valley Highway,
<br />east -west arterials are South 180th Street and Klickitat Drive/ Strander Boulevard. However, arterial
<br />routes are treated no differently than other streets in the network. All of the streets appear to be the
<br />same in width, design, and even in the types of buildings that line their edges. No priority is given to
<br />entrance routes or to important thoroughfares, there are no custom signs incorporated into the
<br />streetscape, and no landmarks or monuments mark special places along the street lengths.
<br />The street network in the Southcenter area is designed solely for the automobile, and follows an
<br />oversized grid that limits internal circulation Southcenter is divided into 38 blocks, with an average
<br />block size of 22 acres. The area contains over 14 linear miles of roadways, with an intersection density
<br />of one intersection for each 16 acres. The smallest blocks in the study are 1,000 feet in length by 1,000
<br />feet in depth, compared to downtown Seattle, with an average block size of 1.5 acres and average block
<br />length of 250 feet. East -west streets are particularly limited. With increased success on this limited
<br />street network, congestion within Southcenter is becoming more common peak times for congestion
<br />are the noon hour during the week, and Saturday's congestion is even greater around the Mall.
<br />2) Pedestrian Circulation
<br />Pedestrian activity is almost nonexistent in Southcenter, limited to the brief walks taken by people
<br />walking to their jobs or to shopping destinations from transit. There are several reasons for this a street
<br />network scaled to the automobile creating block sizes that are too large to walk, long distances between
<br />intersections and destinations, narrow unprotected sidewalks along wide highly trafficked roads, large
<br />parking lots, and the fact that there are no residential uses in the area. In some areas, sidewalks were
<br />created as a part of adjacent development and end at the parcel limits, creating a pedestrian network that
<br />is interrupted and sporadic. Pedestrian access to the Tukwila Longacres Sounder /Amtrak station from
<br />the urban center is not clearly legible, but this should improve with the installation of a permanent
<br />station and a future pedestrian bridge over the Green River. Access to park and open spaces in the area
<br />can be difficult to find on foot, and are often hidden behind buildings. While Southcenter does not have
<br />many pedestrian or bicycle facilities, it does connect to the Green River and Interurban Trails, which
<br />connect to the regional trail system. However, these, too, are difficult to find and access.
<br />3) Transit
<br />Transit is provided to the area through King County Metro bus service, and Sound Transit's "Sounder"
<br />commuter rail service. King County Metro routes 110, 128, 140, 150, 154, 155 and 156 serve the
<br />Southcenter area. Routes 110, 126, 140, 154 and 156 all connect to the Tukwila Sounder Station during
<br />Sounder regular operating hours. Route 110 connects the Tukwila Station area at Longacres Drive with
<br />north Renton. Route 128 provides connections between Southcenter and White Center and West
<br />Seattle. Route 140 is a major east -west bus route connecting the mall to Burien, the LINK light rail
<br />station at South 154th Street, Southcenter, the Tukwila Longacres station and the Renton Park Ride.
<br />Route 150 is the major north -south route connecting Tukwila with Kent and Seattle. Route 154 serves
<br />the Boeing Industrial site and connects to the Tukwila Longacres station. Route 155 provides service
<br />between Tukwila and north Kent, and Route 156 connects SeaTac, Southcenter and the Tukwila
<br />Longacres station. Bus rapid Transit connecting the Burien Park Ride, Southcenter, the Tukwila
<br />Longacres Station and the Renton Park Ride is planned to commence in 2013.
<br />Sounder offers commuter rail service between Tacoma and downtown Seattle with stops in Puyallup,
<br />Sumner, Auburn, Kent, and Tukwila. The interim Tukwila Longacres station is located just south of
<br />W: Long Range Projects Southcenter Plan PC REVIEW 922.11 attach C Esistin.g Cond Sununary.docs 9 /14/201 1 7
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