By time this issue goes to press, November 8 will have come and gone and many regions across the United States will have voted on transportation ballot measures, including Spokane, Washington, where Proposition 1 would authorize an increase in local sales and use tax of up to 0.2 percent to help maintain, improve and expand public transit.
Spokane Transit Authority (STA) has gone through a lot of changes since the last ballot measure was passed in 2004, including bringing on E. Susan Meyer as chief executive officer in 2005.
Meyer admitted that even she had perceptions about the agency at the time she came on board, some of which weren’t accurate.
“One was that the bus drivers were over paid, the other was that there was too much administration and the third one was that we built the downtown transit center in the wrong place,” she said.
“When I got here I was surprised to learn that we have competitive wages but our people aren’t over paid and we didn’t have enough administrative infrastructure to accomplish all the things we wanted to accomplish …” She continued, “I do think the plaza was not built in the right place but you know what? We own it, it operates really well and we have lots of conversations on an ongoing basis with our business friends whose buildings surround our downtown transit center.”
The STA Plaza renovation is part of a long-term commitment to improve operations downtown. The original plan for the building in ’94 was for it to be an indoor atrium with soaring ceilings and skylights – not much functional space.
Through the renovation, they are making the space more efficient. They are bringing all of the patron-related services to the first floor. Customer service, restrooms and retail was all on the second floor, so if you’re on the main floor to catch a bus, you would have to go upstairs to ask a question. While it was intended to drive business to the retail businesses upstairs, Meyer said they concluded it was a failed strategy and having food, restrooms and customer service on the first floor is making better use of the space.
As part of Phase 1, security offices were moved to the second floor and Phase 2 includes significant construction on the first floor. It’s scheduled to be done mid-next year and Meyer said they are right on schedule.
Read the complete article on Spokane Transit Authority at MassTransitmag.com/12272400
