Date:  Thursday, June 21, 2007

Contact: Stan Allison, WSDOT Project Manager, 206-464-1192 (Seattle) Michele Villnave, WSDOT Communications, 360-705-7875 (Olympia)
Jeff Sommerville, WSDOT Communications, 509-577-1632 (Yakima)

City of West Richland Celebrates Park and Ride Lot Expansion

WEST RICHLAND– City of West Richland officials will hold a project dedication ceremony on Tuesday, June 26 at 11 a.m. to celebrate the completion of the first WSDOT Regional Mobility Grant project funded by the Legislature in 2005. The media, local officials, business leaders and citizens are invited to help celebrate this achievement.

The West Richland Transit Center and Park and Ride facility expansion is the first project to be completed under the Regional Mobility Grant program. The Regional Mobility Grant program was funded at $20 million for the 2005–07 biennium and at $40 million in the 2007-2009 biennium. The state’s Regional Mobility Grant Program is designed to improve the coordination of transit services and to increase the use of transit to reduce congestion.

“The City of West Richland expressed the need for this project and thanks to the WSDOT Regional Mobility Grant, the City was able to provide the citizens of West Richland more transportation options.” said Roscoe C Slade III, City of West Richland, Public Works Director.

The demand at the original Park and Ride location exceeded the available space and the $134,000 Regional Mobility grant will expand it from 24 parking spaces to 134 total parking spaces to meet increasing demand. Local funds were provided by the City of West Richland and Ben Franklin Transit. The West Richland Transit Center and Park and Ride facility supports the SR 240 corridor with access to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Over 2,500 families have recently moved into the Tri-Cities region as a result of increasing employment at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

The Park and Ride lot is served by Ben Franklin Transit which runs the 4th largest vanpool program in the Northwest. In addition to the heavy vanpool activity, the Park and Ride lot supports commuter bus service. Learn more about WSDOT Regional Mobility Grants.

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