Downtown Transit Center Expansion Project
Project Need
The City of Longview operates RiverCities Transit (RCT) in the cities of Longview and Kelso and in the adjacent, urban areas of Cowlitz County, providing local fixed route bus and paratransit services. In 2013, RCT expanded service hours, added and modified bus routes, and increased the number of staff and size of the bus fleet to accommodate the added service hours and bus routes. As a result of these changes, RCT is unable to provide adequate customer service and space for its staff without expanding the Transit Center. The proposed project is situated within the existing Downtown Transit Center site located at 1135 12th Avenue in the City of Longview.
Project description
The existing site is fully developed as a transit center with a 1,250 square foot building containing a lobby, ticket sales, restrooms and small staff break room. The remainder of the site is dedicated to bus circulation with bus berths and passenger shelters, and a parking lot. The building and shelters will be demolished, and the bus circulation and parking lot modified. The site will continue to serve as a transit center after the improvements are completed. The new transit center building will be approximately 4,300 square feet replacing the functions listed above, as well as providing administrative offices and a training room facility. Administrative staff currently housed off-site will be relocated to the new transit center. The new project reconfigures the bus drive aisles and berths and provides new passenger shelters. The proposed improvements include more efficient site lighting, site fencing and landscaping to provide better visibility and increase safety on site. Bus circulation will be modified to improve safety for passengers reaching their buses, eliminating one bus lane and converting the area into a pedestrian plaza. Passengers will now have direct access to the buses from the transit center without having to cross an active bus drive aisle. Customer service staff, lobby and restrooms will be more centrally located to improve passenger flow and convenience. Access to the Transit Center from the alley will be fenced, providing two entries to the site using designated bus aisle crosswalks. This will provide additional safety for passengers by eliminating conflicting access points to the site and will guide passengers to dedicated crosswalk entries.
Temporary transit center during construction
Duringconstruction the transit center operation will be moved to a temporary offsite location proposed to be located near the existing center and along existing transit routes.
Project schedule
The project construction is anticipated to start in early 2018 and be completed within 12 months after the start of construction.
Project funding
The project is funded through a grant from the:
Federal Transit Administration in the amount of $2.9M
Federal Highway Administration in the amount of $0.57M
Local Sales Tax in the amount of $0.81M
Total project cost: $4.28M
How can I get more project information or provide comments?
You can contact:
Ivona Kininmonth, Project Manager Or Amy Asher, Transit Manager
360-442-5208 360-442-5661
Or send a letter to:
Ivona Kininmonth
Engineering Department
City of Longview
P.O. Box 128
Longview, WA 98632-7080
Or e-mail comments directly toRiverCities Transit:
Project updates will be posted on the transit website at
DRAFT Proposed Project Design, September 2017
Birdseye view of DRAFT Proposed Design, September 2017
North end view of DRAFT Proposed Design, September 2017
North end sidewalk, DRAFT Proposed Design, September 2017
Southwest Corner, DRAFT Proposed Design, September 2017