Cedar Rapids rededicates ground transportation center and promises changes next year

CEDAR RAPIDS — The blustery, cold weather on Monday in Cedar Rapids was one obvious reminder why the return and reopening of the Cedar Rapids Ground Transportation Center (GTC) was a big deal for city bus riders. That’s because after the flood of June 2008, city bus riders had to usually stand and wait outside in a gravel parking lot. And in bad weather it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

That changed in the first week of December of 2013 when the city opened a remodeled GTC to bus riders. But work on the nearly $11-million dollar project wasn’t fully finished and construction went on until recently. So the formal rededication of the transit facility took place Monday morning.

Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett told a small dedication crowd that the recognition of the GTC remodeling and repair is the 19th such event at major public buildings in Cedar Rapids in the six and a half years since the flooding.

The mayor said some of the delay, compared to other facilities, was due to discussions about the future of the GTC on First Street S.E. in the downtown area. The mayor said officials went back and forth for time before the decision was made to restore and remodel the transit facility in its current location.

Corbett said, in hindsight, it’s a decision that worked out well.

“It’s going to prove out to be the best solution in the long run because now with the federal government approving flood protection on the east side of the river, the flooding risk for this facility in the next 15-20 years will be minimal,” Corbett said.

One big change for city bus riders didn’t come with the formal dedication. Rather, it’s happening sometime early next year.

Source: TheGazette.com

Brad DeBrower, transit manager, said at one time the city was able to use a global positioning system (GPS) to let system managers track where any bus was at any particular moment. The system worked for a number of years but was destroyed by flooding that hit the transit offices as well as the GTC.

DeBrower said in the coming year, the transit department will rebuild the tracking system but this time it also will be available to riders on their smartphones or other similar devices. The system will let riders see where their bus is and how soon it will appear at their stop.

The transit department may go to city council with a recommendation for a vendor before the end of the year. 

Source: http://www.kcrg.com/subject/news/city-rededicates-ground-transportation-center-promises-changes-in-new-year-20141124

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