RTC Meanderings

Posted by Downtown Reno Development Feed on January 19, 2007 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

I had some free time this afternoon so I followed a tip from a tipster to have a look at some of the recent RTC Meeting Minutes. Much of this appeared in the May 2006 minutes. * The latest estimate I saw for completion of the Reno 4th St Transit Station is 2010 (further away than I - and Dave Aiazzi - had hoped). * RTC wants to sell the existing transit station parcel to the highest bidder (to get the most revenue) - a notion that Aiazzi did not share (since the city clearly wants the site - and NOT at a high price). * RTC wants title to the piece of “Plaza St” that lies on the parcel that will become the new RTC station (owned by the city. Dave Aiazzi said the city would try to negotiate with “the Fongs” to buy a parcel they owned if they wished to sell. Though unidentified, it is parcel 011-074-21 that lies immediately south of the Men’s Club.

Other comments of interest..

There were massive cost overruns (60% as compared to the “estimated cost”) on the new RTC station near Victorian Square requiring the plans to be scaled back and rebid. Similar cost escalation is expected on the larger 4th street station.

Aiazzi has actively questioned the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) plan on the basis of both total cost AND the availability of Federal matching funds. He has recently requested further studies (probably to see whether it should remain in the 2007 long range plan update). It will be interesting to see if it continues to remain in the plan when the draft becomes public in a few months.