You can’t use public transit in much of East Pierce County. That could change. Here’s how
Additional public transportation opportunities might be coming to East Pierce County, but it won’t happen overnight.
The city of Sumner and other nearby jurisdictions are looking to partake in a transit feasibility study, hoping to find ways to get public transit service back on the east side of the county.
Community Development Director Ryan Windish said during the May 23 City Council study session that there is a need for transit services in the area. The study would cost $250,000 total, the majority of which will be paid by Pierce County.
The city would need to dip into its general fund and pitch in $25,000. Other areas involved are Buckley, Bonney Lake, Wilkeson, South Prairie, Carbonado, Orting and Tehaleh. They would also have to contribute funds to the study.
Windish said Sumner and other local jurisdictions will convene in July. If cities are all in support of the transit feasibility study an interlocal agreement will be established to get the ball rolling.
The study would take 18 months to complete. Windish told The News Tribune the study would explore the need for transit services in the area as well as options jurisdictions can take such as micro-transit or on-demand transit services — which residents use by calling for a ride.
“The outcome of the study would be a recommendation as to what our path forward should be,” Windish said.
Pierce Transit had buses running through Sumner from 1979 until 2012. However, not a lot of residents used it. Residents paid a sales tax of 0.6 percent for transit services.
“What had been happening over the years was Pierce Transit was providing less and less service to East Pierce County and Sumner in particular,” Windish said.
City spokesperson Carmen Palmer said Pierce Transit was experiencing budget woes in 2012, which was a factor in the agency providing less service. The city was collecting about $2 million per year in sales tax that went to Pierce Transit.
“We were getting what we thought was about $600,000 worth of service,” Windish said.
Sumner currently has three modes of public transportation – Sound Transit trains and buses, Pierce County Human Services’ Beyond The Borders buses, as well as Pierce Transit’s vanpool and vanshare program.
Windish said if Sumner wants to return to Pierce Transit’s district, its residents would need to cast a vote for that. The city would also have to re-implement the 0.6 percent sales tax increase, which would go to the agency.
Sumner would also have to remove their Beyond The Borders buses as well as a Sound Transit-operated shuttle that runs between the city and the Bonney Lake Park and Ride because federal law requires cities to only have one transit agency. The shuttle is a popular service, Palmer said.
“It’s this very weird paradox where we saved transit service (in 2012) by removing ourselves from a transit district,” Palmer said.
The city is looking into establishing a shared shuttle service that would transport employees from the Sumner Station to the manufacturing industrial center. This plan would require the city to work with a shuttle company.
“This is, I think, an innovative way that we may want to pursue in order to get some service in Sumner … They would basically run a miniature shuttle system,” Windish said during the study session.
Council member Patrick Reed said during the study session he is in support of the shuttle program. Reed asked if the program could turn into “regular service,” expanding the route outside the manufacturing industrial center.
Windish said that’s a possibility. The city plans to return to the council with more details.
Palmer said the Sumner Station is the closest station to nearby jurisdictions like Bonney Lake and Orting. Lack of parking has become an issue over the years, prompting Sound Transit to build a four-story garage that will add about 500 additional spots.
Voters approved this plan in 2008. Parking garage designs are expected to be done by 2023. Groundbreaking is expected that same year and the garage should be finished by 2025, according to Sound Transit’s website.
“The question with transit is is … a fixed bus running around going to solve the problem or do we have to figure out – and I think this is where the study is so important – what will move the most people where they need to go,” Palmer said.
This story was originally published June 5, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
