Kent Station Sounder surface parking lot closing

Published 4:05 pm Thursday, March 12, 2026

Sound Transit will close Kent Station’s northwest Sounder surface parking lot from March 16 through the rest of the year due to ongoing construction of the new Sounder parking garage.

The only available spots for this lot will be three ADA parking spots, according to Sound Transit. This closure will last the duration of the project phase.

“We expect this phase to be completed in December 2026,” according to a Sound Transit email. “We encourage drivers to use the existing Kent garage at West Smith Street and First Avenue North.”

Sound Transit is expanding access to Kent Station for its Sounder train. Improvements include a new parking garage at East James Street and Railroad Avenue North, as well as pedestrian and bus improvements. The garage and other improvements are expected to open in 2027.

Sound Transit, Kent city officials and Puyallup-based Absher Construction officially broke ground in October 2024 on the $62 million garage with 400-plus stalls. The garage is going up just south of James Street and east of the Kent Station shopping center, on property where a cold storage warehouse once sat.