Years of planning by Sound Transit, Metro, and the City of Federal Way as part of the new Federal Way Downtown light rail station and bus loop led to placing eight lanes of high volume vehicle traffic on S 320th St. between pedestrians transferring from the busiest local bus service stop, the Metro Route 181 transit center stop, and transit serving the new station.
Prior to the new station, this stop was steps away from other connecting bus services at the Federal Way Transit Center.
Now it is not only a multiple minute walk away from bus and light rail transfers, the new eastbound 181 stop is situated as a mid-block stop between 21st Ave S and 23rd Ave S on S 320th St. Metro's own bus stop placement guidance warns against mid-block stop placement and the unsafe conditions it creates for pedestrians.
The City of Federal Way installed its first new traffic signal at S 320th St. in almost a decade as part of the new light rail station improvements. It includes a "Z" pattern pedestrian crossing requiring pedestrians to wait two cycles to fully cross S 320th St.
In April 2026, just four months after the light rail station fully opened, pedestrian Yanxia Zhang was tragically struck and killed by a driver as she crossed S 320th St. mid-block behind a Metro 181 bus. Pedestrians regularly cross mid-block at this part of S 320th St. likely transferring from EB 181 service to other transit situated steps from the light rail station entrance.
Now the City and King County Metro are making changes to address the safety issues created by the move.
A new 12 ft high median of concrete and fencing is planned for S 320th St. next to the transit center to address unsafe crossings.
Metro's own guidelines say a mid-block bus stop "should be located adjacent to marked pedestrian crossings, preferably with pedestrian refuge islands." The 181 stop where Zhang was killed in April crossing mid-block has neither, and the city's answer is a hardened fence that won't be built until at least late 2028.
The safety changes to S 320th St. that the city council approved in July preserve S 320th St. in the short term as an 8-lane stroad cutting through the city center prioritizing high occupancy vehicle movement and making non-motorized crossings dangerous and time consuming.
New measures to prevent unsafe crossings were approved in July after city traffic staff presented a new project to erect a new 4ft concrete median and 8ft metal fence between 21st Ave S and 23rd Ave S along the edge of the new light rail station property.
Sound Transit built two on-street bus bays on S 320th St. as part of the Federal Way light rail station construction and transit center rebuild, and Metro assigned route 181 to them, moving the stop out of the transit center bus loop. These 181 stops used to be within the bus loop making transfers to other busses easy, fast, and safe.
Using the different crosswalk routing, today eastbound Route 181 riders face a 3 - 7 min transfer to the bus loop and light rail station from the S 320th St stop under the elevated light rail tracks to a crosswalk at 21st Ave S or 23rd Ave S. Riders with mobility challenges face an even longer transfer time.
The above graphic shows the location of the 181 bus stop under the elevated tracks, and the two route options riders have to cross S 320th St. at a marked crosswalk.
The route to the west in green involves four crossing cycles as the city installed a new Z pattern crosswalk at 21st Ave S as part of the light rail station construction. Most riders transferring to the light rail station currently use the option to the east at 23rd Ave S.
Metro is evaluating shorter term changes to relocate this 181 stop along S 320th St. to the west near 21st Ave S.
Recognizing the unsafe conditions to cross the eight lanes of S 320th St. next to the transit center, the city plans to erect a hardened concrete and metal fence along the median of the road. The project is not expected to be completed until 2028 at the earliest to coincide with a planned overlay project along this stretch of S 320th St.
The fence is part of an estimated $750,000 project that also includes adding a Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacon (RRFB) and crosswalk to 23rd Ave S. next to the light rail station. The location already had an RRFB during station construction, but it was removed as part of the opening.
Putting up a fence is similar to what the city did to address Federal Way High School students advocating for safer crossings after a student was struck in the crosswalk crossing Pacific Highway S. and S 308th St. In response, the city erected a metal fence along the median of Pacific Highway S next to the high school.
The Federal Way Mirror reported on the student's rally back in 2023.
“The first thing they ask us is, oh, was she jaywalking or was it her turn to cross?” said Mariame Bongono, who is one of the main organizers. Meagher added that the fact that a professional bus driver was one of the drivers who hit a student shows that there are issues with the structure of the intersection itself: “All these accidents that we’re talking about have been in the crosswalk. … And, again, like, by bus drivers who are good drivers.”
This is what Mayor Ferrell had to say, placing more safety burden on students walking to and from school than on drivers and changing the road’s former inherent highway design.
"We must ensure that students cross the road safely by avoiding the distraction of their cellphones and other technology. They should carefully observe the road conditions before crossing. I want to remind drivers and pedestrians to stay alert and be watchful around Federal Way High School.”
The route 181 stop at the Federal Way Transit Center and Light Rail Station historically is the highest used stop along the route. Prior to construction of the light rail station, the Federal Way Transit Center bus loop included route 181 and all other connecting bus routes within steps of each other.
One change with the new bus loop meant bus bays 12 & 13 moved onto S 320th. St away from connecting buses and the station entrance, and Metro assigned those stops to route 181.
This transit center stop along the 181 route that goes from the Twin Lakes P&R to Green River College is the most heavily used stop along the route with an average of 685 daily boardings and alightings according to seattletransitridership.com.
The graph of ridership from 8/30/2025 - 3/27/2026 is data from the "Federal Way Downtown Station - Bay 12 & 13" stops after the move to S 320th St.
Data from 9/14/2024 - 3/28/2025 shows when the stops were within the bus loop as "Federal Way TC - Bay 3 & 8." The recent data shows sustained high ridership despite the long walk.
Ridership activity fell from roughly 970 to roughly 685 daily boardings and alightings, which is consistent with route 187 that also serves Federal Way riders. The 187 stops within the bus loop adjacent to the light rail station entrance and steps away from connecting transit service. The drop in ridership is likely unrelated to the placement of the stop.
Data per seattletransitridership.com.
The decision to move one of the route 181 stops mid-block on S 320th St. to under the elevated tracks may have offered more weather protection for riders as one benefit.
Other than that incentive, the choice to put one of the highest frequency local routes to the transit center a 3 - 7 minute walk away from bus transfers and the light rail station is a significant downgrade for rider experience and seems to go against Metro's own stop placement guidelines when considering mid-block stops.
Metro's guidelines state mid-block stops should be next to crosswalks. In fact, the first mid-block disadvantage from Metro listed below was a foreseeable certainty when many riders need to cross an arterial to access numerous transit transfer options.
The stops along S 320th St. ignore all those disadvantages and presumably only benefit route times for points further east and west.
Rather than just have the 181 stop within the bus loop next to the light rail station, City of Federal Way traffic staff shared that Metro is looking into adjusting the stop placement to be a near-side or far-side stop, with the latter more likely, at the 21st Ave S and S 320th St. intersection. This will mean riders will likely need to cross 21st Ave S before proceeding to the Z pedestrian crossing across S 320th St. to reach the Federal Way Downtown light rail station. This change paired with the new median fence in 2028 will make the transfer and stop safer, but it further cuts into riders' transfer commute time.
During the Land Use and Transportation Council Committee (LUTC) meeting where city traffic staff presented the project, staff shared that moving the stops to S 320th St. may also benefit future plans to turn Route 181 into a RapidRide route.
Seattle Transit Blog details these future plans, including the choice to remove the deviation off S 320th St. to serve the transit center.
There are two alignment areas for the RapidRide, the first in Federal Way deciding whether to serve the Federal Way Transit Center. Currently Route 181 serves the Federal Way Transit Center by deviating off S 320th Street entering the transit center for easier transfers. The Metro Connects alignment assumes this deviation is removed staying on S 320th Street, requiring westbound riders to cross the street but expediting those continuing further east.
Starting August 29, Route 181 goes from 30-minute midday weekday headways to 15 minutes all day, roughly 6:15am to 7:30pm, and extends weekday service past midnight, adding 54 more weekday bus arrivals at the Federal Way station stop. Weekend service is essentially unchanged, gaining only one late-night trip per direction.
The City of Federal Way also continues to pursue full funding for its city center access project that would add an I-5 interchange and overpass just south of S 320th St. to take the vehicle pressure off S 320th St. for drivers passing through the city center to points west and divert that traffic to S 324th St. Phase one of the project includes roundabout construction at 324th St / 23rd Ave and is currently in final design, permitting, and right of way acquisition steps.
The project doesn't have full funding and has been in the works since 2017. The changes to S 320th St. once the new interchange is in place include converting one lane into an HOV / transit lane. It doesn't include traffic calming or other design changes to make it safer and easier for non-motorized users.
The possibility of turning route 181 into a RapidRide route is currently unfunded, but it has the potential of being a significant upgrade to difficult east-west journeys in Federal Way.
On August 29, late-night service at this stop triples, from three weekday buses after 10pm to nine, and the last bus moves from 11pm to after midnight. More people will be waiting and crossing here, in the dark, starting in two weeks.
The fence arrives in 2028 at the earliest. The flashing beacon at 23rd Ave S already existed once, during construction, and was removed when the station opened. Part of the $750,000 now budgeted will put it back.
Metro is still deciding where this stop goes, and the options city staff described at LUTC did not include returning the stop to the light rail station bus loop.
All of the RapidRide potential is a far way off, and the change to move route 181 stops away from the Federal Way Downtown Station bus loop means riders now and for at least the next few years face unsafe and long transfer times. The City of Federal Way talks a lot about its vision for "downtown" Federal Way as a walkable and vibrant city center, but S 320th St. cuts through that vision with no future changes in sight.
I emailed route planners at Metro asking what changes are being considered to the route, and I am awaiting a response.
The city and Metro made decisions that traded away rider convenience and safety at the busiest stop along the route for the distant potential of RapidRide service.
The city should act more quickly, and Metro needs to make changes that prioritize rider safety and recognize the additional burdens it is placing on riders accessing the highest utilized stop along the 181 route.
You can send Metro a comment here demanding they do more for this stop, and tell the Federal Way City Council that S 320th St.'s future should serve its walkable city center vision, not through traffic, and that waiting until 2028, more than two years after Yanxia Zhang's death, is not an acceptable timeline for a safer street.
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