Peninsula Daily News
SEQUIM — The local bus service hub has been temporarily moved from the Sequim Transit Mall to the street adjacent to the mall so that the bus terminal’s large, open square can be used as a staging area for construction of the new Sequim City Hall.
Sequim Transit Center serves four Clallam Transit Service routes: No. 30 Sequim Commuter; No. 40 Sequim Shuttle; No. 50 Jamestown Campus; and No. 52 Diamond Point.
The bus stop for the routes has been moved to the corner of West Cedar Street and North Second Avenue adjacent to the temporarily closed transit area, said Wendy Clark-Getzin, executive director of Clallam Transit.
Passengers began using the new location in the week of April 14, and the closure is expected to remain in place through the project’s completion date in early 2015.
The move shifts the bus boarding areas from one side of the building where the buses previously had dedicated parking and loading areas to the street less than 200 feet away.
Sidewalks between the bus station and North Sequim Avenue on the north side of West Cedar are closed to pedestrians during construction.
The four routes’ combined ridership is approximately 21,349 passengers per month — an annual ridership of 245,000, said Clint Wetzel, Clallam Transit operations manager.
The number of riders who use the transit center itself is not tracked, Wetzel said.
There is concern that use of the terminal’s square as a staging ground for construction is not part of the intended use of the bus loading area, and a temporary binding “hold harmless” agreement with contractors detailing the use of the pad and damage and liability issues is required by the transit district’s insurance company, said Clallam Transit Board Chair Jim McEntire.
Before the transit mall can be used for construction staging, an agreement must be signed, said Craig Miller, attorney for Clallam Transit.
“The contractor has been [at the site] for [two weeks] already,” Miller said, but noted that there was nothing yet being stored at the transit center, pending the agreement’s completion.
Once the use and damage agreement is completed and signed by all parties, contractors working on the new City Hall building may store building materials and equipment on the bus loading pads.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
