STAMF Newsletter

September 2023

Above: Ribbon Cutting at Gonzaga University, July 18, 2023

Recognizing the City Line Steering Committee

In 2015, the STA Board of Directors and the Spokane City Council approved a joint resolution to create the City Line Steering Committee (originally called the “Central City Line Steering Committee”). With the successful launch of City Line in July of this year, a resolution has been put forward to the STA Board to recognize the outstanding service, invaluable input, and guidance that the committee provided to STA on important milestones throughout the City Line project.

The committee met 21 times over the course of eight years. Over 42 individuals attended as committee members or alternates. Participation in the committee required substantial time commitment, determination, and perseverance worthy of recognition.

The Steering Committee proved instrumental in providing recommendations and guidance to the project. This support regarded the downtown alignment, station locations, community outreach and support, design guidance, and the strategic overlay plan. The strategic overlay plan identified land use and economic development policies to boost transit development and ridership throughout the corridor.

“The committee was indispensable with the public process and outreach,” acknowledged Daniel Wells, Deputy Director for Capital Development at STA. “Their work helped create ownership in the community and a sense of place while moving us forward at project milestones.”

Especially noteworthy is the leadership of Colleen Gardner, who chaired the committee in the final years leading up to City Line’s implementation while also serving as a longtime volunteer and council chair on the Chief Garry Park Neighborhood Council. Further indicative of Gardner’s close involvement is the impressive fact that she attended all but one of the 21 meetings.

Karl Otterstrom, STA’s Chief Planning & Development Officer, stated, “STA is thankful for the many people who helped guide City Line from its genesis to successful implementation.”

Above: Mirabeau Park & Ride on STA's System Map

Mirabeau Park & Ride Improvements

Significant improvements are coming to the Mirabeau Park & Ride. Spokane Transit has been working closely with the City of Spokane Valley in preparation to submit designs for final review and permits in order to begin constructing improvements to be completed by 2025.

“The original facility was constructed in the early 2000s and is in need of updating,” explained Ryan Brodwater, Capital Projects Manager at STA.

Currently serving Routes 32, 74, 97, and 771, the park and ride is planned to become a major hub for expanded bus service along I-90. In order to accommodate the augmented service, additional bus bays are planned.

“The platform will be extended to make room for six bus bays,” detailed Brodwater. Currently there are only three bays.

Brodwater continued, “On top of that, we will be adding two stops on Indiana, adjacent to the park and ride. This means those coaches won’t need to pull into the park and ride, increasing efficiency and making the best use of the space.”

Once these expansions are completed, Mirabeau Park & Ride will be able to service up to eight coaches simultaneously.

But there are further improvements planned.

A sidewalk will be added allowing for pedestrian connection between Mirabeau and Pines Road, where there is currently a sheltered stop.

“The old Mirabeau shelter will be replaced with an expanded facility that features a break room for our operators and additional storage,” Brodwater commented.

The project has been moving forward smoothly. Pre-development meetings have completed, and construction is anticipated to begin in 2024 with the intent to minimize impacts to the public.

“Temporary bays will be set up in the parking lot while the main platform area is blocked off for construction,” noted Brodwater. With the temporary bays, impact to customers who use Mirabeau Park & Ride will be minimal.

Citizen Advisory Committee Seeks Members

Spokane Transit is seeking applications for new members to join the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC). The CAC is comprised of volunteer citizen members who serve three-year terms and meet five times a year.

Members help to increase public participation in the functions of Spokane Transit and ensure accountability for the organization’s actions. The CAC achieves this by assessing STA’s plans and by acting as an educational arm of the organization to reach out to the public for input and feedback to the organization.

While the CAC is recruiting for anyone who is interested in providing meaningful feedback to STA, the committee is dedicated to being as diverse as the community it represents. The CAC is actively recruiting a youth member (18 or younger), members from historically underrepresented groups, and those who live or work in Northeast Spokane, Spokane Valley, or the West Plains.

Please note that in order to apply, you must reside within the STA boundaries or be a consistent user of STA’s fixed route buses, Paratransit, or Rideshare (formerly Vanpool) service.

Click here for more information

Route 4: Past and Future

A quarter of STA’s bus fleet will soon be electric, thanks to the addition of 14 new zero-emission buses arriving by the end of this year. With the 14 arrivals, there will be a total of 40 battery-electric buses (BEBs) in the STA fleet. Among these new buses are the remaining six needed to make it possible to operate Route 4 Monroe-Regal exclusively with battery-electric, zero-emission buses.

“With the addition of these BEBs, we will be able to fully electrify Route 4 and parts of Routes 11 and 12,” said Fleet Transition Manager Christian Bigger. “We are excited to get these electric buses and get them on the road.”

In September 2019, Routes 24, 44, and the southern portion of Route 45 were combined to create Spokane's first cross-town connection, and Route 4 Monroe-Regal was born as part of implementing STA’s comprehensive and strategic plans. The route quickly became the busiest route in the system, connecting north and south Spokane with the downtown. With the Five Mile Park & Ride forming the northern end of the line, the Moran Station Park & Ride was built as the southern terminus of the route with fast-charging technology to support converting the route to completely operate with zero-emission buses.

“The first four battery-electric buses were delivered to STA in 2021 to begin testing vehicles for the route. They were also the first buses to feature the new Blue Wave livery design,” noted Bigger. “It’s really exciting to see this route be fully converted to battery-electric and start seeing these new buses put into service on STA’s busiest route.”

The road to building Route 4 to completion was met with challenges, or one big challenge rather: COVID-19. During the summer of 2019, construction began at high ridership bus stops along the route to get them ready for new amenities, including distinctly branded markers with realtime route information screens, upgraded seating, and pedestrian lighting. Those amenities were scheduled to begin installation in the summer of 2020. In March 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic entrenched the world, STA opened the Moran Station Park & Ride. But supply chain issues due to the pandemic slowed some scheduled improvements at the bus stops.

Despite these challenges, after three years, Monroe-Regal has proven incredibly useful for riders.

“Though there have been challenges, Route 4 has been very successful. In 2022, riders took more than 706,000 trips, the most out of any route in STA’s system,” reported Karl Otterstrom, Spokane Transit’s Chief Planning & Development Officer. “We are excited to see how the route grows in the future.”

East Central / Edgecliff Grant Application

STA, in partnership with the City of Spokane and City of Spokane Valley, is applying for the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant to make major improvements to multimodal transportation in the Liberty to Edgecliff neighborhoods along Interstate 90. This grant is awarded through the US Department of Transportation.

The Liberty to Edgecliff Improvements to Accessibility (LEIA) program would help reconnect communities near I-90 in the East Central Spokane and West Spokane Valley neighborhoods, which are currently served by Routes 90 and 94. The program’s comprehensive approach includes new and improved sidewalks, upgraded bus stops, bicycle facilities and pathways, better crossings, and lighting improvements.

“We started the grant application process in July,” said Tara Limon, STA’s Principal Transit Planner.

Before submitting the grant application, the grant partners sought input and feedback from residents and community organizations. STA also received public feedback through an online survey that garnered nearly two hundred responses.

"The support from the public demonstrates a shared belief in the urgent need for a more pedestrian-friendly and community-centered environment in this area,” said STA Assistant Transit Planner Emilio Bustos. “That precisely aligns with the objectives of this grant.”

Karl Otterstrom, Chief Planning & Development Officer at STA, noted, “Our collaboration with jurisdictional partners has been instrumental in getting so much work done in a relatively short amount of time. Everyone involved is excited about this project because of its potential for positive change.”

Notice of the grant award will come next year. If awarded, work is anticipated to begin in 2026.

Above: Diagram from the Cheney Line Infrastructure and Alignment Plan

Cheney HPT Construction Wrapping Up

Civil work is wrapping up for the Route 6 Cheney High Performance Transit (HPT) line. This current phase of improvements was outlined in the Cheney Line Infrastructure and Alignment Plan, updated in 2020, with design work that began in 2018. With the completion of stop improvements expected later this year, STA will have reached the culmination of its multiphase project to enhance the Cheney HPT route and stops, which started with the Four Lakes and Eagle Station projects.

“The work at Cheney occurred at approximately 90% of the stops along the route and covered installation of utilities: underground electrical and drainage components, along with concrete and asphalt work,” detailed Jeff Hall, Capital Projects Manager at STA.

Hall continued, “Construction has been completed through a contractor in coordination with the Washington State Department of Transportation, the City of Cheney, and Spokane County.”

In October, final HPT amenities at high-ridership stops will be installed to finish the project. HPT amenities include benches, leaning rails, trash receptacles, as well as one of the most visually striking aspects of HPT lines: the HPT markers which feature the blue and green wave wrap, digital displays, and wayfinding signage.

“The idea with these distinct markers,” Hall noted, “is for riders to be able to easily recognize an HPT line.”

Similar to City Line’s lilac and black markers as well as those already installed on the Monroe-Regal Line, the HPT markers signal an enhanced and more frequent level of transit service through major corridors of the Spokane area.

But work on the HPT network isn’t over.

“Improvements to the Cheney Line is just one of many projects slated to develop the HPT Network,” Hall emphasized. “Following Cheney Line, work on the Sprague HPT Line is expected to kick off later this year.”