City adding a new park-and-ride location on RCTC's campus
Rochester is adding another park-and-ride location.
The city council OKed a 3-year agreement this week for Rochester Public Transit to lease 746 parking spaces from Rochester Community and Technical College.
As part of the deal, RCTC students will be allowed to take the bus for free — on all routes at all times. That kicks in on Aug. 21. Students just need to present their student ID cards to the driver.
The park-and-ride service will use five surface lots along College Drive SE and College Parkway SE — the outer most spaces of the college’s West Lot. A new bus stop will be centrally located, according to the school's communication office.
In adding nearly 750 lots, the arrangement will boost Rochester Public Transit's park-and-ride capacity by 50 percent.
“We are helping to ease the growing traffic and parking concerns downtown, but more importantly, we are giving our students access to affordable transportation options throughout the city," said Dr. Michael Anthony, RCTC's VP of student affairs and enrollment management. "This is definitely a win-win.”
Operations begin Sept. 5. The location will offer direct service to downtown and St. Marys every 20 minutes during peak periods.
