Eugene (KMTR) - Lane Transit District calls it a win-win for riders and for stakeholders; a new bus rapid transit route is in the works. The federal government has set aside money for LTD to start looking at what it would take to build the new Main Street-McVay Highway extension of the EmX system.There are already two EmX routes serving parts of downtown Eugene and Springfield, Pioneer Parkway, Gateway Street and Franklin Boulevard.
The newly-proposed route would run from Thurston Station on Main Street in Springfield to Lane Community College.
LTD says the City of Springfield would benefit from the Main Street-McVay extension as it works on renovating the Glenwood area. LTD Spokesman Andy Vobora says it would also help developers and LCC and the University of Oregon as enrollment increases.
“Also, you've got Main Street which has one of the highest ridership areas in our entire system, so it's got a lot of positive attributes,” Vobora said. “And I think that's what really attracted the Federal Transit Administration to pick that one over the Eugene proposal at this time. So we're just getting started and we've got a long road ahead of us.”
The federal Transit Administration was also considering a Eugene route which would have focused on the River Road and Bethel-Danebo areas. But so far, the funding has only been cleared to research the Main Street-McVay EmX extension.
