Vallejo Unveils New Transit Center

On June 6, the City of Vallejo held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the Vallejo Transit Center at 311 Sacramento Street, which is a bus terminal and administration building that represents the first phase of the Vallejo Station Intermodal Facility. Speakers at the event included Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis as well as representatives from Congressman George Miller’s Office, Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC), Solano Transportation Authority (STA), Solano County Transit (SolTrans) and the Office of Historic Preservation.

The event marked an important milestone in the development of the Vallejo Station Intermodal Facility, representing the first major step toward the transit-oriented development envisioned in Vallejo’s specific plans for its waterfront and downtown. These plans include a multimodal waterfront transportation facility intended to be the principal transit hub serving Vallejo as well as providing a gateway to the North Bay and Solano County.

These expanded facilities are, in turn, an integral investment in the broader Solano I-80 system vision, connecting Solano residents to the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento from the heart of this new mega-region and providing transit for the Napa and Solano County labor force serving San Francisco and other Bay Area communities.

This project included the relocation and improvement of Vallejo’s existing downtown bus transfer center, offering a 12-bay bus shelter for transit riders as well as the construction of a transportation administration building that houses ticket agents, public restrooms, security and operator’s break room. This building is situated to provide maximum visibility to the passenger loading area with a captain’s view from the second floor for better security. Security will also be improved by better lighting and video surveillance cameras.

The administration building was also designed with sustainability principles in mind with the use of solar panels, reflective roofing that meets cool roof requirements, sunshades to minimize heating and cooling requirements, widespread use of recycled materials, use of natural light to minimize lighting requirements, and efficient HVAC and water circulation. The bus shelter roof evokes sails and the center rotunda represents a steam liner stack to celebrate Vallejo’s maritime history and 140-year relationship with Mare Island Naval Base.

The Vallejo Transit Center will provide a central and secure bus transfer center for an estimated 1.4 million riders annually of Vallejo Transit and other connecting transit systems. The Transit Center will also be home to the recently formed transit agency, SolTrans, which consolidated transit services of the Cities of Vallejo and Benicia. Upon completion of the remaining phases of the Vallejo Station Program, the existing ferry parking will be consolidated into a parking structure with a pedestrian paseo connecting this downtown bus terminal to the ferry terminal.

Thanks to the efforts of Congressman George Miller, $4 million in federal funding was secured for the Vallejo Transit Center Project with the remaining $4.7 million in project costs being funded through a combination of State and Regional Measure 2 funding. And approximately 100 construction jobs were generated by project activity over the past two years. With the help of its funding partners on this project—Federal Transit Administration, California Transportation Commission, CalTrans, MTC, Bay Area Toll Authority and STA—the City of Vallejo is in an excellent position to take advantage of the next private development surge.

These public improvements, combined with the proposed private development in the downtown and waterfront areas, will create the transit village concept that has been supported by the City of Vallejo and its federal, state and regional funding partners. Surrounding land uses are planned to transition to residential and live work space, retail offices, restaurants, open space and a renewed and dynamic downtown Vallejo waterfront, attracting businesses to bolster Vallejo’s economy.