Nov. 3 — The Spokane Transit Authority is expanding its presence in the Spokane Valley, in several ways.

The Spokane County Commission voted 4-0 Tuesday to sell an acre of land along Appleway Boulevard to the regional transportation authority for its appraised value of $492,000.

The two vacant parcels at 202 S. University Road have long been considered surplus by the county and are immediately adjacent to the transit agency’s more than 5-acre Pence-Cole Valley Transit Center along the University and Fourth Avenue.

Once home to a laundromat, the county purchased the land in 1995 for about $75,000 during the Sprague-Appleway couple’s early planning stages, according to county records.

Spokane County Commissioner Al French, who chairs the STA board, said there are no immediate plans for the land. The transportation company is interested in the land because of its proximity to Valley’s main location and the potential to expand one day, French said.

The transit center is the largest and busiest stop on the transit agency’s Spokane Valley system, averaging 820 weekday boardings last year, according to the STA’s annual performance report .

French said ridership is increasing in the Valley, but there is still work to be done to rebound from the pandemic-induced drop in ridership.

The transportation company’s total ridership across fixed routes, paratransit and rideshare programs peaked at more than 12 million in 2014 and stood at approximately 10.6 million in 2019.

In 2021, this figure reached a low of 5.6 million.

Although last year’s total of 9.4 million is still below pre-pandemic levels, Cortright said the transit authority has rebounded much better than its counterparts elsewhere in the country.

“We did very well,” Cortright said. “We continue to add service hours to our system. We’ve recovered quite well from the pandemic, knowing, again, that many other transit agencies across the country have not been able to recover.

French said riders are drawn to transit out of convenience and need, and he thinks more frequent routes and easier access for residents east of Spokane will help make the system a more attractive way to move around the region. Several STA projects intended to contribute to this effort are already underway, including the development of a high-performance transit corridor along Interstate 90, one of six projects funded by a sales tax of a tenth of a cent approved by regional voters in 2016 and included in the STA budget. 10-year “Moving Forward” plan.

Some of the work included in the corridor development plan is also underway, said STA spokesperson Carly Cortright, such as expanding the Mirabeau Point park and ride to make it a transportation hub. common more robust. Work to expand the available bus bays and parking lot should be completed by the end of the year, she said.

As for routes, the Sprague Line connecting the Valley Transit Center to downtown Spokane was converted to a high-performance route in September. Cortright said the conversion means 15-minute service during weekday rush hours, a travel time competitive with cars and improved amenities for riders, like digital displays in front of the STA plaza that provide data in real time on incoming and outgoing buses.

Formerly designated Route 94, the line is now called Route 9. Cortright said the transit agency plans to complete the line’s stop improvements by the end of the year.

“Although we have officially switched it to Line 9, and it is an HPT line, we continue to make improvements to these stations along the way,” Cortright said.

Another high-performance line currently in the works would provide efficient travel from Spokane International Airport and the greater Western Plains to Liberty Lake. Cortright said the transit agency will release a draft of its 2025 Service Review Plan on Wednesday, which includes the Route 7 project. The public will be able to provide feedback on the plan through a survey.

“Having that connectivity between Liberty Lake, all the way to the airport, all the way through downtown, of course provides a lot more options for people throughout our system,” Cortright said.

The transportation authority is also considering going beyond the Idaho border, partnering with Kootenai County for a proposed two-year pilot of a route from the Mirabeau Park and Ride STA location in Coeur D’Alene.

“We still hope to achieve this by the end of this plan, which is the end of 2026,” Cortright said. “So stay tuned.”

Spokane Valley Deputy Mayor Tim Hattenburg said he’s excited about the improvements coming to his neck of the woods. Hattenburg represents the city on the STA board alongside Mayor Pam Haley.

While he looks forward to seeing how the pilot route to Coeur D’Alene plays out, Hattenburg said the real reward will be felt on local roads.

“Liberty Lake gets backed up every day,” Hattenburg said. “And there are a lot of accidents there, more often than people think.”

The improvements should help ease traffic backing up on the highway throughout the greater Spokane area – which will only get worse as the local population continues to grow.

“We’ve seen some growth, but there’s still more to do,” French said.