By Jessica Tuggle
jtuggle@hometownnewsol.com
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The main transit hub for the county’s public transportation system will not be moving to a new location in Vero Beach.
County commissioners voted 5-0 to move ahead with staff’s recommendation to leave the GoLine bus system main hub at the intersection of 25th Street and 17th Avenue instead of moving it to another location in Vero Beach.
Talks between Indian River County and Vero Beach about the location of the bus hub began earlier this year in response to concerns from residents living around the hub, in the Old Town neighborhood.
On numerous occasions residents of the neighborhood took to the podium at Vero Beach City Hall to voice their concerns about the traffic, trash and increased number of pedestrians walking on their streets.
Moving the hub, building coverings and bathrooms onto a city-owned property leased to the county had been part of the discussions, but when the city declined to be responsible for the landscaping and maintenance of the property once it was leased, the county decided to stop seeking a new place.
Phil Matson, metropolitan planning organization director, said the property in question, which is near the railroad tracks on 16th Street, is already maintained by the city, so such a term was unacceptable to the county.
Instead, the county will attempt to re-apply the grant they were going to use for the construction of the new hub toward outfitting the current hub site with pavilions and bathrooms, Mr. Matson said.
“We feel that the site is functioning very well,” he said.
The main bus hub has been at its current location, the site of the old county administration center, since 2010.
For more information about the GoLine bus system, call (772) 569-0903 or visit www.golineirt.com.