Belfair Park and Ride opening still up in the air

MTA reports uptick in ridership during winter

Matt Baide | Mar 31, 20220

The Mason Transit Authority Board monthly meeting provided an update on the Belfair Park and Ride’s potential opening date.

At the meeting, MTA General Manager Amy Asher provided an update, with unanticipated delays to finalize the details of the Belfair Park and Ride building necessitating another location of the April board meeting, which was scheduled to be hosted at the Belfair building.

“I just spoke with our project manager, Patrick Holmes, earlier today. We’re waiting to hear for final approval from the fire marshal on a couple of items that were outstanding and we haven’t had that permission to go forward yet,” Asher said.

MTA is waiting to conduct the final punch list for the mechanical plumbing and engineering that needs to be done before occupying the building, and it is not anticipated to be ready by the April 19 meeting.

The April 19 meeting location was changed to a special meeting in the Transit-Community Center conference room and the July meeting location was changed to the Belfair building to allow time for MTA to be established in the building before the meeting.

Action was also taken on an interlocal agreement with the City of Shelton for a bus pullout and bus stop shelter at Pacific Court near Turning Pointe as part of the Gateway project.

The cost for the project is $71,370 and was approved by the board in the capital budget in December.

The city introduced the resolution on March 15 with approval expected in April.

“This bus stop will be incorporated into that project and MTA will be paying the city for the construction of the bus stop pullout, which will allow buses to pull all the way to the side of the road to allow traffic to go by while we load passengers,” Asher said. “There will be a shelter at this location and a connection to the sidewalks. There’s also going to be a crosswalk so that the pedestrians can make it safely across the street to this new pullout.”

Shelton’s Gateway Project will include road reconstruction, water line, storm drainage improvements and sidewalk project. Asher said Turning Pointe is excited the bus stop will be constructed in the summer.

Board member Sharon Trask commented on the bus stop, saying it is needed.

“It is going to truly help those that are living in the shelter get to jobs or to school or to the mall even so truly I think this is a pullout in the right direction,” Trask said.

Asher also provided some other updates to the board, including a 15% increase in sales tax received in 2021. Asher also talked about the QR codes people can scan to use all MTA routes.

MTA saw an uptick in ridership in January and February and expects the increase in ridership to continue with the increase in gas prices. The transit center and all buses require masks due to federal guidelines through April 18.

“We’re reminding people that we’re here and we’re available, we haven’t gone anywhere,” Asher said. “I think that as we’re seeing gas reach $5 a gallon, we’re going to see a little uptick in our ridership.”