YCAT transfer hub moves downtown

After the Yuma Police Department determined that buses blocked visibility at the current site, the Yuma County Area Transit transfer hub will move to downtown Yuma starting Tuesday.

The new YCAT transfer hub will be at the corner of 3rd Street at Gila Street (200 S. Gila St.) and be known as the Downtown Yuma Transit Center.

As a result, Orange Route 2, Yellow Route 95 and Gold Route 8 will no longer serve the Yuma Palms Regional Center bus stop. Only Red Route 1 and Green Route 4 will continue to serve the shopping center.

Transit staff will be available at both the former and new transfer hubs to help passengers understand the route changes, transit director John Andoh said.

The Yuma County Intergovernmental Public Transportation Authority (YCIPTA) decided to close the Yuma Palms transfer hub after the police observed that buses were blocking visibility for cars turning from Yuma Palms Parkway to Castle Dome Avenue as well as cars traveling from the Target driveway onto Castle Dome Avenue for five to seven minutes each hour during YCAT service hours.

Police also noted that since Castle Dome Avenue is a collector street, public transit vehicles can only stand long enough to load and unload passengers.

Andoh met with city and police officials and a traffic engineer to discuss options. The options they discussed included using the Yuma Palms parking lot as a transfer hub; relocating the transfer hub to 12th Street behind Harkins Theatres; relocating the transfer hub to the former Greyhound agency location; and relocating the transfer hub to the future Downtown Yuma Multimodal Transit Center at the historic Hotel del Sol.

The first option was deemed not feasible because Inland Continental and Target Corporation (parent company for Target Stores) wanted a liability agreement and a monetary contribution to replace the pavement due to the heavy weight of the buses.

In addition, the parking lot does not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Andoh said.

The second option was also not considered feasible because motor homes and larger vehicles could not travel around the buses laying over on 12th Street for five to seven minutes due to the center island in the roadway.

And an extra capital expense would be required to expand the bus bay from two to at least five buses, which could not be completed in time, Andoh explained.

The third option was not practical as the property would need to be leased and the property owner has requested $8,500 per month, which would be $102,000 per year.

The fourth option was considered as the best as it could be implemented in 30 days. The buses will load in front of the hotel building on 3rd Street and a portion of Gila Street on roadways that are non-collector in nature and not very busy.

“The proposed location is close to governmental services used by many YCAT patrons and is more central to the service area,” Andoh said.

Finally, he added, since this site is proposed for a future transit center, moving the buses earlier shows future grantors that the city and Transportation Authority are committed to having all transit services at one location.

Staff conducted surveys the first week in August to understand passengers' travel patterns and assess if Yuma Palms Regional Center is being used as a destination or as a location to transfer between buses. The results show that 50 percent of the passengers transfer between buses, 19 percent board buses after being dropped off and 36 percent patronize the shopping center, with most of the ridership coming from Orange Route 2 and Green Route 4.

The Transit Authority held a public hearing regarding the proposed service changes, but no public comments were received.

The changes are not expected to have financial impacts, Andoh said.

For now, passengers may continue to catch Greyhound buses at the Yuma Palms bus stop on Castle Dome Avenue, across the street from Jack in the Box and next to Target.

YCAT established a transfer hub at Yuma Palms in 2003, with four to six routes meeting every 75 minutes at this location Monday through Saturday between 5:55 a.m. and 9:10 p.m.

Prior to that, buses met at the Southgate Mall on the 4th Avenue extension.

For more information on route changes, visit ycat.org or call 783-2235.

YCAT route changes effective Sept. 4:

Red Route 1 - Central Yuma circulator via 4th Avenue (counterclockwise)

• The layover for this route will be at the Downtown Yuma Transit Center and the route will depart at 30 minutes past the hour.

• Yuma Palms Regional Center bus stops will be served on Castle Dome Avenue, 12th Street and Pacific Avenue.

Orange Route 2 - Colleges and Fortuna/Foothills

• The layover for this route will be at the Downtown Yuma Transit Center and the route will depart at 30 minutes past the hour.

• Downtown Yuma Transit Center will be served traveling via Giss Parkway and Interstate 8.

• Yuma Palms Regional Center bus stops will be served only on 16th Street at Yuma Palms Parkway (westbound) and 16th Street at Sunridge Drive (eastbound).

Green Route 4 - Central Yuma circulator via Pacific Avenue (clockwise)

• The layover for this route will be at the Downtown Yuma Transit Center and the route will depart at 30 minutes past the hour.

• Yuma Palms Regional Center bus stops will be served on Castle Dome Avenue, 12th Street and Pacific Avenue.

Blue Route 5 - Quechan Shuttle

• The route will be realigned to serve the Downtown Yuma Transit Center at half past the hour

Purple Route 6/6A - Avenue A

• This trip at 7 a.m. and 5:11 p.m. trip will be extended to/from the West Cocopah Reservation as Purple Route 6A, follow the Purple Route 6 routing through Avenue A and 8th Street in Yuma and no longer use Somerton Avenue or Avenue G or Avenue D in Yuma County.

• Saturday trips are now designated as Purple Route 6A.

Gold Route 8 - Interstate 8/Wellton

• This route will be realigned to serve Downtown Yuma Transit Center via Interstate 8 and Giss Parkway. Passengers wanting to go to Yuma Palms Regional Center should transfer to Red Route 1, Orange Route 2 (on 16th Street) or Green Route 4 at Downtown Yuma Transit Center.

Yellow Route 95 - Highway 95 South

• The layover for this route will be at the Downtown Yuma Transit Center and the route will depart at 30 minutes past the hour.

• Service to Yuma Palms Regional Center will be discontinued. Passengers wanting to go to Yuma Palms Regional Center should transfer to Red Route 1, Orange Route 2 (on 16th Street) or Green Route 4 at Downtown Yuma Transit Center.

• Northbound to Downtown Yuma, the route will use First Avenue, Second Street and Maiden Lane.

• Southbound to San Luis, the route will use Giss Parkway, Redondo Center Drive and Arizona Avenue to normal route.

• Service on Pacific Avenue and on 24th Street between Pacific Avenue and Arizona Avenue will be discontinued.

— Source: YCIPTA