As Columbia grows, regional transportation center could be part of the equation

A vision for the future of Columbia and the Midlands must include a conversation about transportation, local leaders believe.

And the conversation has to be about more than cars.

How do people get around now, and how do they want to move in the future? How and where is the region growing? How can different modes of transportation connect to get people where they want and need to be?

That’s why the Central Midlands Council of Governments is commissioning a study to identify a possible location for a regional transportation center and features it might include. A public meeting is planned for Wednesday to seek input on the concept –and a possible location.

A true transportation center would connect multiple modes of transportation – such as bus, rail, car service, walking and biking, as well as parking – depending on what the community identifies as its needs. An example is Charlotte’s downtown transportation center, which connects bus and light rail service and is located not far from an Amtrak station and Greyhound bus station.

Transportation centers, which can even include such broad community functions as library branches and retail spaces, tend to become activity centers and attract development around or nearby them, Central Midlands Council of Governments leaders say.

Wednesday’s conversations will be among the first steps in what could be a five- to 10-year journey toward a transportation hub connecting various types of transit throughout the Midlands region, said Bob Schneider, director of the Midlands’ public bus system, The COMET.

Regional growth and transportation “have to go together,” Schneider said. “Transit is important to Columbia. (Riders) have said it over and over and over. They’re putting their bodies where their mouths are. They’re riding (COMET buses) in numbers we haven’t seen in 30 or 40 years.”

The COMET’s current bus transfer center at the corner of Sumter and Laurel streets in downtown Columbia is “woefully inadequate” and has been for years, Schneider said.

But the idea of a regional transportation hub isn’t just about considering the needs of The COMET and its riders, although the bus system would be a key component.

“Our goal is to have a great place for people to get where they need to go, not a great place to spend their day,” Schneider said. “We need something that meets a functional need and fits into the fabric” of the community.

Once a concept is developed for what needs the center should meet in the Columbia area, then the community would have to figure out where to locate it. And, Schneider noted, just because a location is available does not mean it would be an appropriate fit.

There is an Amtrak station off Huger street in downtown Columbia that could offer the connection to railway travel. But, Schneider noted, downtown Columbia isn’t central to the entire Midlands. It’ll be up to the community to consider which location factors are most important.

Beyond conceptual planning, it would most likely take a mix of local, state and federal funding to make a transportation center come to fruition.

While the Columbia area isn’t close to estimating a cost for its potential transit hub, Schneider said that, generally speaking, transportation centers around the country have cost $10 million or more to build.

The Central Midlands Council of Governments has a website with a survey and more information about the concept of a Columbia-area transportation center: www.midlandstransportationcenter.com.

This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 6:20 PM with the headline "As Columbia grows, regional transportation center could be part of the equation."