Big Changes Coming Down The Road For Valley Buses

The Spokane Valley Transit Authority is planning a complete overhaul of routes starting next fall and Valley riders will see significant changes.

According to a yearlong study, the transit authority is not providing effective service along the Valley’s main commercial strips or between its neighborhoods. Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates evaluated STA’s entire route system. This summer, it presented the STA with proposed route changes it believes will improve service and ridership - in the Valley and throughout the transit authority’s service area.

“There are changes affecting every area, every route,” said STA Executive Director Al Schweim, who hopes the changes will increase ridership.

The transit authority will spend the next few months seeking public input on the proposed changes. It will distribute maps and surveys at transit centers, malls and other public places, and give presentations to community groups. Schweim hopes to enact new routes by next fall, following any necessary tweaking.

The Valley proposals include more frequent and extensive service along Valley commercial corridors, such as Sprague, Pines and Argonne. Currently, most Valley routes east of University run hourly. The new routes in this area, for the most part, would run every 30 minutes.

A new, more extensive Mission route would run every 30 minutes to locations such as Spokane Community College and the Valley Hospital and Medical Center. A new Pines route would provide service from 16th to Trent every 30 minutes. A Sprague route from Spokane to Sullivan would run every 15 minutes, instead of the current 20.

These, and other changes, will provide faster travel between Valley communities, said Connie Peterson-Brady, an STA transit planner.

The proposed route changes would also allow Valley residents to travel to north or south Spokane faster, without having to go all the way downtown to connect with a frequently-running north/south bus. Under the proposals, they could get off at Havana, which would have buses running north and south every 15 minutes. Currently, Havana buses run every 30 minutes.

The consultants recommended STA provide more frequent express service between the Spokane Industrial Park, the Valley park-and-ride lots and downtown - but only during peak commute hours. Routes would run every 30 minutes, instead of the current 60 minutes during these times.

Express service to these areas would be eliminated during midday, but riders could reach these destinations using a different hourly route.

Another significant change would be the creation of flexible routes for low density areas east of Sullivan Road. Under the proposal, an hourly bus would run along Appleway, Barker, Wellesley and portions of other nearby roads. As needed, it would deviate off the route to pick up riders in other parts of the East Valley. Riders would have to request pickup by phone at least one hour in advance. These special pickups would come with a higher fare.

These, and other proposed changes, would match Valley routes more closely with potential demand, the consultants concluded. New development, they said, has created untapped markets that are currently not being served.

STA’s Schweim agreed.

“It was time to do business differently,” he said - in the Valley and throughout Spokane County.

STA will give community presentations on the route changes, as requested, over the next few months. For information, call 325-6063. The transit authority will begin distributing maps of the proposed changes and input forms within the next few weeks. A public hearing will be held in October.

, DataTimes