Following an appeal, the Lincoln City Council has unanimously approved the controversial temporary relocation of Lincoln’s downtown bus transfer center.
This was the final stamp of approval the city needed to move forward with relocating the transit hub from 11th and “N” Street, outside of the partially demolished Gold’s Building, to the corner of 11th and “L” Street — in the heart of the 11th Street business strip which is home to 8 different bars and restaurants.
This temporary location, currently occupied by the husk of the old Settells printing company building, will be the city-transit’s beating heart for the next three years. During that time, the city will build a new Multi-Modal Transit Center (MMTC) on the southside of the city-county building on 9th and “H” Street, which will then take over transfer center operations.
The move was controversial among area business owners, who raised numerous concerns about the relocation relating to rider and motorist safety, access to restrooms, loitering, litter, loss of parking, etc. The city held a series of open houses to provide transparency about the obstacles of the current center location, and plans to relocate.
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- Star Tran Transfer Center located on 11th and “N” Street. (Chase Porter, KLIN News)
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- Mockup for Lincoln’s New Multi-Modal Transportation Center to be located on 9th and “H” Street. (Lincoln Transportation and Utilities)
Despite looming concerns, the StarTran Advisory Board unanimously approved 11th and “L” for the temporary relocation of the center. However, attempting to prolong the conversation and increase transparency, City Councilman James Michael Bowers elected to appeal the advisory board decision in early March.
This decision prompted Liz Elliot, Director of Lincoln Transportation and Utilities (LTU), to refresh the city council on plans to relocate. Elliot outlined the issues with the current location, compromises with concerns,
The city’s amended plan brings the three bus loading zones closer together to reduce passengers having to cross a busy “L” Street and nixing any loss in parking, installs enhanced lighting and security cameras, as well as maintained public restrooms, and maintains an agreement with Lincoln Police to have the area monitored by an off duty officer.
The council reiterated concerns from the public that this “temporary” location could extend past its scheduled completion date. Elliot said firmly that this will be a temporary location.
“The permanent Multi-Modal Transit Center will happen. It will happen by 2027,” Elliot said. Adding that a lease the city has struck with the owners of the Settells building, the same owners as the in-development Gold’s building, will expire that year. Derek Zimmerman, on behalf of the Gold’s building developers REV Development, affirmed that 2027 would be the deadline.
“Economics will come in to play,” said Zimmerman. “We are the owner of a property that we purchased that we need to make use of. We cant just let it sit there for the benefit of the city in perpetuity.”
Richard Schmeling, President of the local group Citizens for Improved Transit (CFIT), voiced his support for the relocation, saying this will be the first public restroom available in a Lincoln transfer center “since the days of the street car,” when the transfer center was on 10th and “O” Street.
SaRena Freet, the owner of the Hot Mess which located on the adjacent corner of Settells, has been outspokenly opposed to the relocation. During Monday’s meeting, she expressed desires to expediate construction of the MMTC to less than three years.
“Can we shorten it from three years? Can we shorten it to 18 months? That would be huge for us, and I think beneficial for everybody involved,” Freet told council members. She added that a concrete guarantee that the MMTC project would not extend past 2027 would help alleviate anxieties over the unknown effects of the relocation.
Elliot said they had no renewals planned for the new 11th and “L” Street location.
After hearing the pros and cons of the temporary transfer center, the City Council voted 6-0 to approve the relocation. If the council would have rejected the StarTran Board’s decision, then the transfer station would have remained by the Gold’s Building.
StarTran Transfer Center located on 11th and “N” Street, next to the now demolished Gold’s building. (Chase Porter, KLIN News)