Moving around Airway Heights may soon be a lot easier, according to a Spokane Transit Authority (STA) presentation at the Airway Heights City Council’s March 4 meeting.
STA announced the introduction of Route 63 in September, which will connect Airway Heights to the recently-completed West Plains Transit Center. The addition means two full-time routes will run seven days a week within the city.
The new route was originally planned for 2020 but was accelerated due to the arrival of Amazon and other large businesses on the West Plains, STA’s director of planning and development, Karl Otterstrom, said.
Since 2016, STA has been steadily increasing its ridership, adding early morning and late night trips and increasing bus frequency from every 60 minutes to every half hour.
According to STA data, the number of boardings within the city limits has increased from about 700 in 2008 to more than 900 in 2018. That growth will likely continue, with Route 63 adding roughly 40 bus trips every weekday.
The STA also offers paratransit within three-quarters of a mile of any bus route, Otterstrom said. Paratransit fare is the same as that for the regular bus system despite the program costing five to six times more to operate.
Residents who don’t qualify or don’t wish to use paratransit can participate in a program that teaches them how to ride buses and understand routes and even pairs them with volunteers to help them navigate the public transportation system.
The council also unanimously approved the replacement of the municipal code governing the rental of public facilities. The new regulation establishes a rental policy for any facilities provided by Airway Heights and was implemented largely to facilitate room rentals at the long-awaited Airway Heights Recreation Center on Deno Road.
Similarly, council approved a resolution setting administrative fees relating to the recreation center’s fee structure and room reservation rates. That vote was unanimous, though council members Sonny “James” Weathers, Larry Bowman and Steve Lawrence were absent.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
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