Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/316941
In February, the Sarasota County commis- sioners asked staff to draw up preliminary plans showing how buses would circulate if the downtown Sarasota County Area Transit (SCAT) bus transfer station — located at Lemon Avenue and First Street — were moved to a new site. During a budget work- shop on May 16, the commissioners got a look at those plans, w h i c h s h o w e d t h e new station near the intersection of Ringling Boulevard and School Avenue. Buses would enter the facility from School Avenue, drop off and pick up passen- gers and then exit from East Avenue onto Ringling, said Ed Gable, the county's director of general services. The commissioners liked what they saw, voting unanimously after some discus- sion to roll ahead with continued study of the move. A bus transfer station built in Collier County borders a parking structure, a design similar to one proposed for a new Sarasota County Area Transit transfer station in downtown Sarasota. The Collier facility's bus lane has room for six vehicles, while the planned Sarasota project would be able to accommodate 10 buses at once. Image courtesy Sarasota County SECOND GEAR IN A UNANIMOUS VOTE, THE COUNTY COMMISSION APPROVES CONTINUED STUDY OF RELOCATING THE DOWNTOWN SARASOTA COUNTY AREA TRANSIT TRANSFER STATION FROM LEMON AVENUE TO RINGLING BOULEVARD It is almost miraculous the way it is designed. It is really clever. Nora Patterson Commissioner Sarasota County By Roger Drouin County Editor