Park-And-Ride Lot To Open At Liberty Lake

The Spokane Transit Authority plans to open a new park-and-ride lot in the Liberty Lake area in November, about half a mile southwest of the existing facility.

The $1.8 million 165-vehicle lot will be on Mission Avenue, just behind the Liberty Lake Albertson’s store. It will be paved and landscaped and will include loading areas for four buses, van and carpool areas and disabled-access parking, as well as passenger shelters and an emergency phone.

The nearly three-acre facility also will offer bicycle lockers and racks.

It will replace the unpaved parkand-ride lot north of Interstate 90 on Harvard Road. The land upon which the existing lot sits is likely to be needed to accommodate future realignment of the freeway interchange, according to Christine Fueston, STA planning and grants manager.

The STA will receive bids and choose a contractor next month, and construction will begin in late August or early September, Fueston said.

A combination of federal, state and local funding will pay for the project.

The STA continues to negotiate with Spokane County over the purchase of land that would allow it to expand and improve its existing Sullivan Road park-and-ride lot by next summer. It hopes to turn the now undeveloped facility into a four-acre lot with paved parking for 130 vehicles.

To do so, the STA must purchase 1.75 acres of county park land that would become part of the site. The STA and county have not yet agreed on a purchase price.

Although no definite plans exist, the STA is eyeing the area around the Barker Road I-90 interchange as another possible site for a future park-and-ride lot.

, DataTimes