PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Transit broke ground Tuesday on a project that will expand its Four Corners Road Park and Ride.
The $540,400 project, which was awarded to Hoch Construction Inc. of Port Angeles last week, will expand the Park and Ride to 100 parking spaces and add a bike barn and electric vehicle charging stations.
The current Park and Ride located at 63 Four Corners Road just outside of Port Townsend has 50 parking spots and limited bike storage, said Tammi Rubert, Jefferson Transit general manager.
With construction now underway, a number of those 50 parking spots are blocked off to accommodate construction teams.
The project is expected to be completed in one to two months.
Rubert said the Four Corners Park and Ride is very busy and hopes the expansion will bring in more people who aim to cut their carbon footprint by commuting to work on public transportation.
“In the existing parking lot now, we have a lot of commuters and lots of people who park here throughout the day,” Rubert said. “Our employees also use this lot.”
The project is the last step in the new Transit location in Four Corners Road. The agency finished a new building a little over a year ago but didn’t have enough money to build a 100-spot park and ride.
“This completes the project for us,” Rubert said.
The project will be funded by a regional mobility grant of more than $1 million that was awarded to Jefferson Transit, which will match 20 percent of the total costs.
“We won’t know what the cost is until it’s finished,” Rubert said.
The new park and ride will offer ample parking for commuters, and the bike barn, modeled after one used by Kitsap Transit on Bainbridge Island, is meant to encourage people to bike to Four Corners and take the bus into town.
The transit building also is close to the Larry Scott Trail, and the project includes a small trail that in time is expected to connect bikers to the Larry Scott Trail into Port Townsend.
According to Rubert, the new park and ride is expected to get plenty of use, especially from bikers in the summer months.
“The current bike storage we have is all used up,” Rubert said.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
