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BATA
Transit Center Grand Opening Ushers
in New Era in Public Transportation
Free
bus rides on July 21
TRAVERSE
CITY, MI (July 14, 2006)— The
Bay Area Transportation Authority
(BATA) is celebrating the opening
of its new Transit Center on Hall
Street in downtown Traverse City with
a grand opening event on Friday, July
21. The public is invited to ride
the bus for free all day on the 21st,
and free ride tokens, prize drawings,
hot dogs and refreshments will be
offered at the Transit Center from
Noon – 3:00 p.m.
The
new BATA Transit Center signals a
new era in public transportation.
The attractive hub facility makes
possible expanded bus service with
scheduled stops throughout the Grand
Traverse area – including service
to and from Leelanau County. The Transit
Center has clean restrooms, comfortable
seating and is staffed during service
hours. Free wireless Internet access
will soon be available. Long distance
commercial bus service has scheduled
arrivals and departures at the Transit
Center.
“This
facility represents a giant step forward
in addressing the need for viable
public transportation in our area,”
said BATA Executive Director Joe DeKoning.
“Having a permanent transfer
point greatly expands our capacity
to deliver dependable, comfortable
and convenient service.” DeKoning
added that with the Transit Center
now in place, BATA would be more aggressive
in convincing people to use the bus
system. “With the price of gas
at $3 per gallon, you can get where
you’re going a lot less expensively
on BATA, and you don’t have
to deal with traffic and parking.”
The
$1.2 million Transit Center was made
possible through funding from state
and federal transportation department
sources. The 3,500 square foot building
houses a spacious waiting area, restrooms,
ticket sales counter and dispatch
area. Outside are eleven covered bus
stalls protecting riders from the
elements when transferring between
busses. Clark, Walter and Sirrine
Architects designed the building using
a “greebuilt” approach
based on Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) criteria.
The
LEED Green Building Rating system
evaluates environmental performance
from a whole building perspective
over a building’s life cycle,
providing a definitive standard for
what constitutes a “green building.”
The rating system is organized into
five environmental categories:
Sustainable
Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy &
Atmosphere, Materials and Resources,
and Indoor Environmental Quality.
An additional category, Innovation
and Design Process, addresses
sustainable building expertise as
well as design measures not covered
under the five environmental categories.
The
majority of contractors and suppliers
for the project were local companies
including Clark Walter Sirrine and
the project’s general contractor,
Grand Traverse Construction.
For
more information about BATA including
route and schedule information, visit
www.bata.net.
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