La Center residents may soon have bus service to take them to and from C-Tran connection stops.
Last week, at a City Council meeting Wednesday, Aug. 28, La Center Mayor Tom Strobehn announced that C-Tran will establish a Park and Ride stop in the city.
Strobehn shared that the city aims to develop a facility similar to the Junction Park-and-Ride in Ridgefield. This new stop is expected to transport La Center residents to C-Tran connections, which may include ilani, Ridgefield, Vancouver and Portland. Initially, the stop will start small but will expand its service within the city over time. The mayor said the initiative is meant to address the needs of La Center’s rapidly growing community.
“With all the growth that’s going into La Center, one of my objectives is to actually get ahead of [it],” Strobehn said.
Talks between Strobehn, La Center Public Works Director Tracey Coleman and C-Tran began in July. Based on these discussions, Strobehn anticipates groundbreaking for the Park and Ride facility to begin this fall. He expects the stop to begin operations sometime in January.
“I think [it’s] important if we can help alleviate some of the traffic that’s going on,” Strobehn explained. “When I first moved out to La Center from Vancouver, there was no traffic on the road. Now, it’s almost gridlock at 5:30 in the afternoon, all the way out past La Center. So, if we can take at least a partial amount of the cars off the road, that would be great.”
To gather community input, the City of La Center is currently offering a survey for its residents at ci.lacenter.wa.us. The survey asks residents about their preferred times and days for transit use, reasons for travel and preferred C-Tran destinations. Strobehn hopes the new Park and Ride will make commuting easier for residents, particularly those traveling for work.
Strobehn said La Center is the next logical spot to add bus service.
“This way, people are used to seeing the buses [here],” he said. “They’ll ride the buses and take those to work instead of always having to drive their car. Plus, you know what, sometimes it’s always nice to have somebody else drive.”
Details regarding the exact location, date and time of the bus stop are still to be determined. C-Tran’s Manager of Communications and Marketing Eric Florip could not confirm the announcement at press time. C-Tran does announce ride service changes in September, though Florip did not confirm an announcement will be made from C-Tran soon.
In other meeting news, the City Council will host a public hearing and vote on whether to vacate the right-of-way for a proposed hotel development in west La Center. The right-of-way, approximately 4,268 square feet, is located on the south side of LaCenter Road, east of Paradise Park Road. The developer has proposed a 109-unit, five-story hotel, and the vacation of city property would enable the development to proceed. The public hearing is currently scheduled for Sept. 25.
