The needs have been identified, the site has been studied and a conceptual plan readied to improve CityBus transfers at Riehle Plaza, add a public park and perhaps create new space for Ivy Tech Community College.
Funding is the next step, then construction, with work possibly beginning yet this year or next, says CityBus General Manager Martin Sennett. Completion is two to three years away.
North of Riehle Plaza
An area north of Riehle Plaza has been chosen for construction of a 13-space, saw-tooth, parking shelter with a roof that will provide protection from bad weather. Riders will benefit because transfers will be easier and quicker and schedules more reliable. The plan also incorporates improvements for people with disabilities.
Each route will have an assigned space, so riders always know where to go to get the bus they want.
More Green Space
The area will be enhanced with tree plantings and a public park space. “It will be much more attractive than our current transit hub, and built to blend with Riehle Plaza,” Sennett says.
Education, Too
Another aspect being pursued is a new building, with tenant space of up to 20,000 square feet for use by Ivy Tech Community College. It would house classrooms and the college’s workforce/economic development activities, says Ivy Tech Chancellor David Bathe.
“We would like to better serve the downtown community—people who live in the area, the business community and Purdue students who commute between campuses,” Bathe says.
It would be more convenient for many Ivy Tech students and prospective students, he says. “I think it’s a really exciting partnership between Ivy Tech and CityBus, and it would alleviate some of the space issues we’re now having with parking and classrooms on our main campus.”
The transfer center plan was developed for CityBus by Orlando-headquartered Glatting, Jackson, Kercher, Anglin.
See the planning documents here:
