Island Transit eyes Clinton parking lot
Published 1:30 am Friday, May 15, 2026
Island Transit is exploring the possibility of someday purchasing the state-owned park-and-ride lot at the Clinton ferry dock and building a transit station with a safer area for people to get on and off buses.
No parking stalls would be lost under the plan, but it would add a transit-only area with shelters for riders, additional bike lockers and a “comfort building” for bus drivers during layovers.
During a transit board meeting earlier this month, Executive Director Melinda Adams presented the latest details while a consultant, Jeff Lehman of the firm KPFF, showed the members a conceptual rendering of what the lot might look like. He said a central aim is to move the on-and-off loading of buses off of Highway 525 and into the park-and-ride lot.
The lot, which is zoned for transit and close to the ferry dock, is located at the corner of Highway 525 and Deer Lake Road. It is owned by the state Department of Transportation and leased by State Ferries, Adams said. The lot currently has 190 stalls.
“This location is highly desirable for this purpose,” she said. “WSDOT is interested in selling and all indictors point to the long-range plan supporting a future transit center on the South End.”
In an interview, Adams emphasized that Island Transit is only testing the validity of the idea at this point and that no plans have been made to purchase the property. She also said the agency just started work on the long-range plan, which will guide the decision over whether such a facility is needed on the South End.
Adams explained that former Island Transit leaders had planned on building a transit station at the Ken’s Korner park-and-ride lot and obtained $12 million in federal funding for the purpose. The problem, however, is that the county commissioners placed a development moratorium on mixed-use Rural Areas of Intense Development, which included Ken’s Korner and the lot. Also, county officials may not consider a such a facility the highest and best use of property within a mixed-use RAID.
At the same time, Island Transit now has just two years until use of the federal dollars expires. In order to avoid losing the money and to fill a possible need — depending on the long-range plan — Adams explored the possibility of building the facility on another lot.
Adams said the agency is hoping to do an environmental assessment of the site, specifically a categorical exclusion worksheet under the National Environmental Policy Act. She said no action can be taken until Island Transit has the “full concurrence” of the Federal Transit Administration.
