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Committee advances streetlight acceptance and seeks $600,000 Complete Streets grant to improve crossings near Federal Way transit center
Summary
The Land Use & Transportation Committee forwarded acceptance of a streetlight infill project and voted to seek a $600,000 Complete Streets grant to add a crosswalk, a median fence and related safety work near the transit center. Staff said the full project is estimated at $750,000; King County Metro has offered a potential match.
The Federal Way Land Use & Transportation Committee on July 7 voted to forward acceptance of the completed streetlight infill project and authorized staff to pursue a grant to fund crosswalk and fencing improvements near the transit center.
Kathy Davis, presenting the streetlight infill project, said the work installed 47 light poles and an electrical service cabinet; the contract authorization was $1,770,000 and construction came in at about $1,709,000. "We went ahead and installed 47 light poles with 1 electrical service cabinet," Davis said, noting the work was originally tracked as ARPA-funded.
The committee then heard a presentation from Rick Perez on a safety project around the transit center. Perez said the city is proposing restriping to narrow lanes, constructing a 4-foot median suitable for a fence, and installing signs and an overhead rapid-flashing beacon at one crossing to direct pedestrians to marked crosswalks. "We are proposing to apply to... Complete Streets," Perez said, adding the proposal responds in part to "a pedestrian fatality to occur on 3 20th back in April." He estimated the work at about $750,000 and said the city would apply for $600,000; King County Metro has indicated willingness to help provide the local match and Sound Transit had not yet committed funds.
Public commenter Mike Bullock Zigler praised the crosswalk plan but questioned the cost. "I know infrastructure is expensive, but I'm wondering why it costs $750,000 for those 2 items," he said, pointing to roughly 1,100 feet of fencing and a crosswalk addition on 23rd Ave S.
Council members pressed staff on tradeoffs. Perez described operational impacts if Metro moves a bus stop closer to the intersection and said Metro might fund some signal work; he also explained why certain fencing or temporary measures are problematic given grades and ADA constraints. Perez told the committee that constructing the crosswalk and related restriping would be timed to an overlay scheduled for 2028 to reduce costs; grant selection is expected in early 2027.
The committee voted to forward the streetlight project acceptance and to forward the proposed grant application to the July 21 consent agenda for council approval. Both motions passed by voice vote.
What happens next: the grant application will be submitted and the streetlight acceptance will appear on the July 21 consent agenda. If the grant is awarded, staff will return with design and funding details and any required agreements with Metro or Sound Transit.
