Financial- COPS (Official Statement/Drafts)

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~~ ~ ~ ~ Buses need to be able to access and depart from the facility using streets that carry relatively --- limited traffic volumes. Routings must be sble to be d~veloped in a fashion~that provides direct, quick travel through the downtowa area, avoiding streets and intersections which are overcrowded with auto traffic. _ Other features that are needed in an efficiently designed transit ceater include: Good pedestrian fiow, with adequate room for arriving and departing riders as well as general public users of the sidewalks around the transit facility Of increasing importa.nce, the transit center must meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA). There must be sufficiem room for petsons in wheelchairs to navigate the passenger loading areas and proceed sai~ly with other transit riders. Weather protection is more than a convenience to transit customersr-it is a public service that i~ required if transit is to be able to attrac:t new riders and be considered as a viable altemative to the private auto. Consider the city's investment ove,r the past 20 years of $850,000 in the downtown weather protection program, as an indication of the importance of such amenities to the downtown community and its customers. Safety is one of the most critical concems. In terms of design, this means good lighting, separation from downtown tra~c, eliminating the need to cross streets to access buses, and adequate space to move people and buses through the facility with good visibility. Close proximity of customer services, such as ticketing, enclosed heated and lit waiting areas, transit informatioq and access to system administrators and policy makers . Convenient access to the downtowa core area is one of the fundamental factors in deciding the issue of facility location Surveys of transit customers confirm the importance of close proximity to the major shopping and employmert opportunities Of grimary importance to the future of the Cherriot system, a transit facility design needs to be sufficiently flexible to accommodate growth in routes and riderstup. Ridership in 1997 grew 25% over'96 levels. Current plans project the potential for an additiona120% to 30'~o increase in the next two to three years. TI~ EXISTIlVG FACILITY The current "Cherriot Station" was constructed in 1983 by the City of Salem. The need for the facility arose from a planned change in the direction of one-way downtown streets, known as the State-Court couplet. Fourteen Cherriot routes had been stopping at curbside along H'igh St. between State and Court, Court St. from H'igh to the alley west of H'igh, Court St. just east of H'igh, and on State St. east of I~'igh. The reversal of travel direction on Court and State streets eliminated about hatf of the curb frontage that had been available to the Cherriots, effectively ending the usefulness of the curbsides for a transit facility. 4