The City Commission unanimously approved the design of a new RTS Bus Fleet Maintenance and Operations Facility on Thursday, which will allow for more buses to operate throughout the city.
It will be built next to the current RTS building at the intersection of Southeast First Street and Veitch Street.
The current facility does not adequately service the growing number of RTS buses in Gainesville, said city spokesman Bob Woods.
The approved design includes an operations and administration building, a maintenance building, a bus wash center and a parking area for 200 buses, among other features. The operations and administration building was designed to meet LEED Silver requirements.
The city hopes to have the first phase of construction done by 2014. Funding for the project came from grants from the Florida Department of Transportation.
Commissioner Jeanna Mastrodicasa said she was concerned the project may cause noise complaints from surrounding neighborhoods.
The design team held two workshops earlier this year where residents shared input about the project. The team said it is working to ensure noise will not be a problem.
Contact Adrianna Paidas at apaidas@alligator.org.
