Transit Center

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The product of over a decade of planning led by the Town of Blacksburg in close coordination with Virginia Tech, the Transit Center will deliver a central transportation hub and alternative transportation facilities in the vicinity of Perry Street, embedded within the North Academic District.

The capstone of this expansive, 6+ acre project will be a 13,000 gross-square-foot, two-story transit center that will serve as a hub for multiple modes of alternative transportation, including Blacksburg Transit, the Smart Way bus, Virginia Breeze, and bike share.

The first floor will provide a heated/air conditioned rider waiting area and will house Virginia Tech’s Sustainable Transportation Department and Hokie Bike Hub. On the second floor will be a break area for Blacksburg Transit operators and office and meeting space for Blacksburg Transit and the Sustainable Transportation Department.

The new building will be located adjacent to the south side of the Perry Street Parking Garage.

The Perry Street area as it exists today will be reimagined. Seventeen bus loading and unloading slips will be grouped around two bus loops located east and west of the new transit center. Perry Street will be closed and transformed into a pedestrian-friendly plaza which doubles as a portion of the Infinite Loop, a two mile accessible and multi-modal route identified in Beyond Boundaries 2047 and the Campus Master Plan, connecting additional future accessible routes.

Centralization of bus stops and routes throughout the region at the Transit Center will help improve safety and convenience for riders and pedestrians, as well as efficiency of the Blacksburg Transit system. The Transit Center will be the designated stop on campus for most routes. A Campus Shuttle, with frequent service, will be available to help passengers move from the Transit Center to other parts of campus once the Transit Center opens.

There will be dedicated bike lanes coming into and out of campus on Stanger Street. These lanes will then transition into shared lanes near the entrance to Goodwin Hall. From Goodwin Hall to the roundabout, and onto central campus, the lanes will continue to be shared use and marked as such with sharrows. The roundabout and shared lanes will be very similar to the roundabouts on the Drillfield near Torgersen Hall and Newman Library.

The $36 million project is being funded by Blacksburg Transit using federal grants.