Kitsap Transit celebrates opening of its new transit center in Silverdale

Kitsap Transit Executive Director John Clauson, center, cuts the ribbon on the new Silverdale Transit Center on Monday, June 24, alongside representatives from the Federal Transit Administration, the Suquamish Tribe, Gov. Jay Inslee’s office, Rep. Derek Kilmer’s office and Kitsap Transit’s Board of Commissioners.

Kitsap Transit on Monday celebrated the opening of its new transit center in Silverdale, the culmination of a decade-long process to find a permanent home for public transit in Central Kitsap.

The $25 million Silverdale Transit Center (STC) is one of the first transit centers in western Washington with in-ground inductive chargers for electric buses and features accessible, covered waiting areas for passengers, a dedicated on-ramp for buses to travel onto Highway 303, an operator comfort station, bicycle storage and edible plants.

“We’ve been on a quest for a permanent home for a transit center in Silverdale for quite some time,” Kitsap Transit Executive Director John Clauson said. 

Kitsap Transit also implemented significant changes to its bus service in Central Kitsap to serve the new transit center, including new routes that will circulate throughout Silverdale and connect riders to housing, food, recreation and St. Michael’s Medical Center.

The Grand Opening event was attended by Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Region 10 Administrator Susan Fletcher, Washington State Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar, Suquamish Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman, representatives from the offices of Gov. Jay Inslee and Rep. Derek Kilmer, Kitsap Transit’s Board of Commissioners, Kitsap Transit staff and members of the public.

The $25 million project was made possible thanks to $13.5 million in Federal Transit Administration funds, $9.3 million in state funds and a $2.2 million local match.

Chairman Forsman of the Suquamish Tribe congratulated Kitsap Transit on the new facility, which is built on the territory of the Suquamish Tribe and close to its ancestral villages on Dyes Inlet.

“We hope this new facility will help reduce our carbon footprint and benefit future generations,” Forsman said. “Suquamish families that lived in these villages at Erlands Point and Phinney Bay eventually established homesteads to save their land from seizure on the advice of their settler neighbors.  This early spirit of collaboration is demonstrated in this project as governments all collaborate to make a stronger and more environmentally resilient community in our ancestral home.”

Kitsap Transit Executive Director John Clauson, left, greets Suquamish Tribe Chairman Leonard Forsman at the Silverdale Transit Center groundbreaking event on Monday, June 24.

The inductive charging units are one of the first for a transit center in Western Washington. Installed by InductEV, the in-ground units will allow our expanding fleet of electric buses to recharge mid-service rather than return to base.

“This electric bus station is more than just a transportation hub; it represents our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and the well-being of our community,” Melissa Littleton, a representative for Gov. Jay Inslee said.

The new STC was built over a year and a half, but the project’s origins go back almost 15 years. In 2010, KT was asked to move from the Kitsap Mall, where it had picked up and dropped off passengers for more than two decades. A “temporary” solution at a dead-end spur off Greaves Way wound up being used as a transit center for the next 12 years.

In 2015, we began the process of searching for a permanent facility in Silverdale. The site at the corner of Ridgetop and Sid Uhnick was chosen for its direct access to Highway 303 and close proximity to St. Michael’s Medical Center.

In addition to funding, Kitsap Transit worked closely with its partners at WSDOT to coordinate the creation of a dedicated bus-on ramp to ease the traffic burden on Highway 303. After picking up passengers, buses traveling southbound to Bremerton will be able to bypass Ridgetop Boulevard entirely.

“Congratulations to Kitsap Transit and the community for this great addition to the region’s multimodal and accessible transportation options,” state Secretary of Transportation Roger Millar said. “This new transit center provides alternatives to single-occupancy vehicle travel, features innovative inductive bus charging and provides more reliable, on-time service for travelers, including the 25 percent of state residents who don’t or can’t drive. It also provides direct access to SR 303 with the new transit-only on ramp, alleviating congestion on local streets. I’m happy WSDOT was able to assist in this project to make travel easier for all and while also helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Kitsap County Commissioner Katie Walters speaks at the STC Grand Opening on Monday, June 24.

The new STC is a critical link in wider plans to improve the traffic efficiency of the Ridgetop corridor. Katie Walters, a KT Board member and Kitsap County Commissioner for Central Kitsap, noted that the County is planning to make pedestrian and bicycle improvements to Ridgetop Boulevard.

These improvements will support the ability of Kitsap Transit’s buses to keep on schedule as they travel throughout Silverdale, including the new Routes 265, 266 and 331. 

“These enhancements will not only improve traffic flow but also enable Kitsap Transit’s buses to operate more efficiently and to stay on schedule. It’s a win-win for our community and our transit system,” Walters said.

Kitsap Transit operated a two-day temporary detour out of Ridgetop Middle School to accommodate the Grand Opening. Service out of the new STC officially started on Wednesday, June 26.