Start date for new Kitsap Transit center in Silverdale pushed back

Originally expected to be complete this month, a new interim Kitsap Transit center in Silverdale will be up and running by the end of August, said John Clauson, service development director with the agency.

Originally expected to be complete this month, a new interim Kitsap Transit center in Silverdale will be up and running by the end of August, said John Clauson, service development director with the agency.

When Kitsap Mall management ended the lease agreement allowing the transit agency to operate a transfer station on mall property, a temporary transfer stop was created on Randall Way in February — without any shelter — because the transfer center at Clear Creek Road near Greaves Way would take its place by the start of the summer.

Because of regulation changes on stormwater systems, it took longer to complete investigative work at the future transfer station site, which has caused for the delay, Clauson said.

“As it stands now, we’ve got all those issues resolved. We should be getting our permits to move forward very soon,” he said Monday.

The transfer station at Clear Creek Road will include shelter, security cameras and lighting — the preliminary design work is complete and construction is expected to begin at the beginning of August with the facility ready to be used by the end of that month, Clauson said.

The interim transfer station will cost about $170,000 — $50,000 of it was used to take care of the stormwater issues — and be used from five to seven years until a permanent transfer station in that same vicinity can be established. The plan is to have a park-and-ride to accompany the permanent transfer center. Although Clauson said discussions on the permanent site are in the early stages, the agency anticipates the park-and-ride lot to have about 250 parking stalls. How soon the permanent transfer station can be established is contingent on the economy and what property owners in the area plan to do with their land, Clauson said. The agency is in discussion with the property owners to determine a way to integrate a permanent transfer center there.