The public joined Evergreen Healthcare, transit and city officials in the lobby of the new DeYoung Pavilion Oct. 29 for the dedication of the Totem Lake Transit Center.
The new Transit Center opened last Saturday and provides service from five King County Metro bus routes, including routes 230, 236, 238, 291 and 935. It is also integrated into the design of Evergreen’s newly constructed DeYoung Pavilion building on the southwest corner of the Kirkland hospital campus, at 12039 Northeast 128th Street.
During the ceremony, Evergreen CEO Steven Brown said the project was a unique public-private partnership between the City, Evergreen and Sound Transit and a “milestone occasion.” He added that the bus stop provides a low-cost transportation alternative for Evergreen’s more than 3,000 employees, and gives patients easier access to healthcare services.
“Thanks to this partnership, not only were we able to better serve bus riders in Kirkland, we were able to help the hospital expand its project,” said Council member Mary Alyce Burleigh, adding that building the projects together saved all parties money.
State Rep. Larry Springer, who has been instrumental in working on area transportation, thanked Brown for his vision and said Evergreen did this because “they realized this was in the best interest of their community and their employees.”
The project features six bus bays with sheltered passenger waiting areas. Improvements were also made to the intersection of 120th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 128th Street to give buses and pedestrians safe access to the facility.
In addition, a new staircase into the Totem Lake Mall area provides pedestrian access for hospital employees and shoppers.
“It’s a big improvement,” said Sandy Lamb, an operating room supervisor at Evergreen, who was at the event. “There are a lot of staff and patients who take busses, so this is really good.”
Carol Sale, also a nurse supervisor at Evergreen, said she has employees who travel north and south from the Evergreen campus.
“They get off at the Totem Lake Freeway Station and have to walk several blocks over here,” Sale said. “It will be nice for them to be able to get off work and go because they work different hours in the operating room.”
Construction of the Transit Center was integrated into the construction of the DeYoung Pavilion, set to open next spring. The five-story building will house a Sound Transit hub on the first floor, medical offices and ample underground parking. It will also be home to the Evergreen Neuroscience Institute, which will consolidate the services of the MS Center, the Booth Gardner Parkinson’s Care Center and the Stroke Center under one roof.
