A new transit hub is coming to Redmond.

The Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council, which oversees regional transit provider Cascades East Transit, purchased property for a new transit hub last month for $788,891, according to COIC Senior Transit Planner Jackson Lester. The station, which will be located south of downtown Redmond next to Fred Meyer off of U.S. Highway 97, will replace current Cascades East operations at the Redmond Library.

“We have been using the library, and that hasn’t been an ideal site,” Jackson said. “It’s not built to be a transit hub.”

A Connect Oregon grant worth a little more than $1 million is funding the project, along with contributions from local groups and agencies including the city of Redmond’s Downtown Urban Renewal Agency, the Oregon Community Foundation and COIC. The plan for now, Jackson said, is to continue refining designs with community groups to make sure the new station will meet everyone’s needs. Once a final design is completed, construction will start in early summer.

“That way we could get it open before the weather becomes like it is now,” he said.

In its current form, the design allows for the four Redmond commuter buses, which take people back and forth between Redmond and Bend, Madras, Sisters, and Prineville, to be at the station at the same time. This will make it easier for passengers who are trying to make a connection, as well as people who want to drive to the station and park their car, to catch their bus, Jackson said.

Dial-a-Ride buses, which people can schedule to pick them up by calling Cascades East Transit, can use the hub as needed, and talks are currently underway to allow regional transportation lines, such as the Central Oregon Breeze that brings passengers between Central Oregon and Portland, to use it as well.

Because the station will be constructed adjacent to Redmond’s Homestead trail, which connects the northern and southern parts of the city via a foot and bike path, bus services will be accessible to pedestrians and bikers, Jackson said.

The finished station, which COIC hopes to have ready by October, will provide an opportunity to prepare for population and ridership growth over the next 20 years. Jackson said that the hub could serve as a base of operations for a Redmond fixed-route service, which he said will likely become necessary in the future.

Redmond’s population — 28,654 at the beginning of July, according to U.S. Census Bureau — has more than doubled since 2000.

The property has enough room for future construction of an indoor lobby and additional parking. Jackson said, as well as perhaps offices for transit administration.

Those possibilities are considered part of the project’s second phase, which doesn’t have a timeline.

— Reporter: 541-617-7829,
awest@bendbulletin.com