INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Board of Indian River County Commissioners has agreed to move forward with a plan to move the GoLine bus hub from near the Original Town community south of the County Administration complex to a vacant parcel next to the Florida East Coast Railroad at 17th Street in the City of Vero Beach.
The county has received a $1.15 million grant to build a permanent bus hub that would replace the oft-contested hub currently situated near a couple neighborhoods.
“It’s worked ok operationally,” said Phil Matson, the county’s Metropolitan Planning Organization staff director, of the current hub site.
However, nearby residents have complained about the hub, pushing elected officials to come up with another solution.
The County Commission’s 4-1 vote to approve the 40-year land lease with the City of Vero Beach will mean a change to the city’s Council agenda tonight, during which the City Council was expected to move forward with appraising the subject property for the purposes of selling it as surplus.
Commissioner Bob Solari was the lone dissenting vote, citing concerns that the new bus hub’s location was not vetted by the MPO Board and no study had been done to determine the impact moving the hub a mile away would have on the bus routes.
“It seems to me this will impact routes,” Solari said. “I’m more worried about service.”
Matson told commissioners that he believes the bus system could accommodate the change.
Senior Resource Association CEO Karen Deigl told commissioners that the proposed site fits within the parameters set to determine a location for the hub. The SRA operates the GoLine bus system.
Deigl raised concerns about having to move the hub not just once but twice. The commission also approved a temporary bus hub site along Pro Flite Drive at the Vero Beach Municipal Airport.
The temporary hub will replace the current hub that has drawn criticism from the Original Town community.
“We’re stretching what I call the ‘rubber band’,” Deigl said of incurring expenses and dealing with the logistics of two moves. “Everything is doable.”
Commissioner Tim Zorc raised the issue of train traffic near the new, permanent bus hub site, questioning how traffic in and out of the hub would be impacted.
County Engineer Chris Mora told commissioners that there are, on average, three trains daily that roll through between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. – the hours GoLine operates. He said he doesn’t anticipate the trains to be an issue.
However, he said if the trains do cause traffic backups, the county could consider a traffic signal that would run only as needed to allow for bus traffic to exit the hub.