Just in time for holiday shopping, South King County commuters who buy just $10 a month in gift certificates at SeaTac Mall and ride Metro Transit to work will now be able to park their cars at the mall during the day on weekdays.

King County Metro’s Shop & Ride is a new way to Park & Ride, designed to create more park-and-ride space in areas where existing park-and-ride lots are regularly full, as is the case at the nearby Federal Way park-and-ride. It gives transit customers the added convenience of being able to shop without making an extra trip.

Starting Dec. 1, 200 parking spaces will be outlined with an orange stripe and set aside for the Shop & Ride program at the southeast corner of SeaTac Mall, near the Mervyn's store. Customers must purchase at least $10 per month in SeaTac Mall gift certificates at the mall’s customer service desk to receive a one-month Shop & Ride parking permit. Commuters must park inside the orange stripe, and only during the daytimes Monday through Friday.

"I want to thank the mall management for their openness to this new program," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "We’ve been talking about this for some time. This is an effective, low-cost way to provide extra park-and-ride space where it’s needed. And it helps the Federal Way community by supporting local businesses and reducing car trips."

"As a shopping mall we are a community hub, and we want to help find solutions to traffic congestion in the area," said SeaTac Mall general manager Bob Fliday. "The Federal Way park-and-ride has been filled to capacity for a number of years, and we decided it was time to do our part as more cars were overflowing into our lot. We have some extra space Monday through Friday during the days, so this is a win-win-win for commuters, the mall and our tenants."

SeaTac Mall is located on South 320th adjacent to the Federal Way park-and-ride lot, which is served by these bus routes:

• METRO TRANSIT: Routes 173, 174, 176, 177, 178, 181, 183, 187, 188, 194, 195, 197, 901, 903
• PIERCE TRANSIT: Routes 402, 500
• SOUND TRANSIT: Routes 565, 574

King County opened its first Shop & Ride lot with 34 spaces for transit users on Vashon Island on March 1. The lot is at the Vashon Market in Vashon Plaza, just west of Vashon Highway at SW 176th St. and 100th Ave. SW. At that location customers must purchase at least $30 a month and submit their receipts to the market’s customer service desk, preferably during the last week of the month. Customers will also need to complete a brief survey, and the store will then issue them a monthly parking permit.

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