Planning subcommittee OKs bus terminal at A&M

Complex will have rest areas, office, cost $250,000

A city planning subcommittee signed off Wednesday on a proposed bus terminal at Alabama A&M University for its developing campus bus system.

The complex will be built west of the George Washington Carver complex facing the university's quadrangle. Cort Heller of SKT Architects said construction should begin early next year and be completed by late summer.

Marshall Chimwedzi, campus transportation director, said the building will provide protection for students using the bus system.

"This transfer station is a welcome addition to the Bulldog Transit System and it has been designated to complement the architectural style of other existing campus buildings," Chimwedzi said.

Plans shown to the Planning Commission's subdivision subcommittee depict a red-brick complex with restrooms, an office for dispatch, rest area for drivers, and shelter for about 200 students with a vending area.

University officials estimated the project will cost about $250,000. The project will be paid for with a federal transit authority grant. Campus transportation officials also plan a bus maintenance facility in the next year or so to complement the university's transit system, which is now in its third year. Daily ridership averages 2,500 to 3,000 students.

Chimwedzi said the program has greatly improved the campus by reducing traffic and parking congestion and creating a cleaner and quieter atmosphere.

Final approval is needed from the city Planning Commission next Tuesday before construction can begin on the transfer station.

Across town, the University of Alabama in Huntsville is also improving its student shuttle system.

Work is under way on a more than $9 million, three-story combination parking deck, campus shuttle and city bus terminal, and UAH police headquarters near the new Shelby Center for Science and Technology.

It is expected to be completed in late summer of 2008, said UAH spokesman Ray Garner.