By Calvin Hall
NEWS REPORTER
Lane Transit District has postponed the opening of its new, $24 million bus rapid transit system from its initial December opening date to January 2007, but the system is otherwise on schedule, officials say.
LTD’s Emerald Express, or EmX, will transport passengers for free between downtown Eugene and downtown Springfield, stopping at eight stations along a route primarily using Franklin Boulevard.
A concept similar to light rail systems, EmX will employ 60-foot elongated buses that will use designated lanes and will be powered by hybrid-electric propulsion.
Travel on the EmX buses will take about 16 minutes between Eugene and Springfield and will operate from 6:30 a.m. to 10:40 p.m., according to project plans.
EmX had been slated for completion in December, but LTD decided to move the final opening to Jan. 14 so that EmX drivers would have enough time to learn to operate the EmX buses, said Cosette Rees, marketing representative for LTD.
As of Oct. 25, LTD had finished installing the signs and traffic signals for the EmX along its route.
Rees said driving instructors will begin training next week, and EmX drivers will begin their training, which will take a minimum of roughly 40 hours over the next six weeks, the following week.
“That’s really our big push at this point,” Rees said. “It’s disappointing to a lot of us that it’s not happening in December, but I think it’s prudent, because these are new vehicles, to have operators go through intensive training on them.”
Rees said the first EmX bus arrived Oct. 23 and was sent to have its exterior painted with the EmX logo. Another bus is expected to arrive within the next two weeks.
The EmX will use a total of six buses, which cost $960,000 each.
LTD will unveil the painted bus at Eugene Station downtown on Nov. 9 at 9 a.m. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) is slated to drive the bus into the station.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski and former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber were also invited to the event, Rees said.
“We really designed a whole new vehicle for this service to serve the median stations,” Rees said. “The process has taken a lot longer than we thought it would.”
When LTD started on EmX construction along Franklin Boulevard, some business owners said they worried about the effects that EmX and needed construction on the boulevard would have on their businesses.
Andrea Rutherford, the front desk manager for Days Inn on Franklin Boulevard, said business had decreased while construction crews were working on EmX, but that business had since picked up.
“There was a big slump when they were doing a lot of stuff, but we wound up having a better year than last year, so it all worked out,” she said.
Rutherford said she was excited about having the EmX service along Franklin Boulevard because of potential benefits to the inn’s customers, who would be able to ride into downtown Eugene.
“I think there will be a real nice benefit for all our guests to be able to get on the bus and ride to downtown and not have to get lost driving on our one-way streets, which is what they all complain about,” Rutherford said.
Track Town Pizza General Manager Mike Ripley said parking availability for customers during construction on Franklin Boulevard was a concern because crews had blocked parking spaces across the street. Since then, however, construction has not affected sales, and September was a record month for Track Town pick-ups and deliveries, he said.
Ripley said traffic and parking in the area was already horrible, and he was in favor of mass transit.
“This general area as a whole needs a revitalization,” Ripley said.
Rees said LTD was working to provide more information, such as instructions for disabled passengers, to residents.
“I think it’s been such a long time coming, that it’s exciting to the community that it’s actually here,” Rees said. “We’re kind of on the threshold of a new era in transportation in this area.”
In addition to nearing completion on EmX, LTD has produced plans to extend EmX service to Gateway and RiverBend areas, a project known as the Pioneer Parkway Corridor.
LTD Assistant General Manager Stefano Viggiano said Pioneer Parkway plans will be submitted to the Springfield City Council for approval on Nov. 6, the Lane County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 8 and the LTD Board on Nov. 15. If all three groups approve the project, LTD will work on final plans, he said.
“If everything goes well and we get our funding, we’re looking at opening it in 2010,” Viggiano said.
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