Sta Planning Superstop In Cheney

Bus riders in downtown Cheney will soon have a place to get out of the wind and rain.

The Spokane Transit Authority is planning to build a $250,000 superstop on the main highway through the city.

The STA superstop is being built in conjunction with a city-sponsored park-and-ride lot as well as other street improvements.

Cheney’s new stop will be similar to an end-of-line station that opened in Medical Lake last fall.

Officials said the new stops will make bus travel more comfortable for passengers in those West Plains cities.

In Cheney, the city is seeking grant money to extend sidewalks and curbs along Highway 904 from Mullinix to Washington streets.

The addition of the superstop should help the city gain approval for a grant application for the street work, said Mayor Amy Jo Sooy.

Together, the bus and street improvements will improve the image of the older downtown area as the city tries to promote more business, she said.

The superstop and park-and-ride would go on a half block of city property at the intersection of Cheney-Plaza Road.

STA officials are getting a $120,000 grant from the Public Transportation System Account and will spend another $130,000 of local money on the project.

The Cheney stop will include a shelter for passengers, lighting, bike racks, a restroom for drivers, an emergency telephone, landscaping and possibly an automatic teller machine.

STA has plans for two other superstops in its regionwide system. They probably will be built at the Riverpoint college campus in downtown Spokane and at the Manito Shopping Center, said STA Director Allen Schweim.

New bus routes going into effect this fall will schedule buses to Cheney every 15 minutes during peak hours in the morning and afternoon.

Also, the new routes will make the Manito Shopping Center a crossing point for different routes, including a new two-way loop route across the north and south sides of Spokane.

In Medical Lake, the new bus stop at Lake and Broad was built at the site of a former funeral home. City officials said embalming bottles were recovered during excavation for the project last year.

The new stop has moved buses away from the intersection of Lake and Lefevre, where large coaches had blocked views for drivers at the intersection, Schweim said.

, DataTimes