Lawton’s indoor transfer center to be built south of public safety complex

City of Lawton officials have selected a six-acre tract south of the public safety center as the site for Lawton’s first indoor mass transit transfer center.

City Council members, acting in their capacity as the City Transit Trust, made the decision Tuesday after returning from a 45-minute executive session where they had been expected to discuss property appraisals and/or land purchases.

Neither is a factor in the site they selected: land stretching between Larrance and Railroad streets, Southwest B to Southwest D avenues. Most of that land is owned by the City of Lawton, said Ward 4 Councilman George Gill, who explained the reasons for selecting the site after the meeting. Council members/trustees did not discuss the issue on the floor.

Gill said while a small portion of that block is privately owned – and could be studied for purchase – the City of Lawton owns the majority, more than enough land to hold the transfer center, as well as the maintenance/storage facility that is being planned, Gill said. He said the site’s other benefits include its proximity to downtown Lawton and the fact it is adjacent to Lawton Police Department.

The tract is immediately south of the Lawton Public Safety Complex that houses the police department, Lawton Fire Station No. 1, the city jail and municipal court. A related facility (a police storage building) already is located on the site. Gill said the LATS complex can easily be built around that structure, but the metal building also could be easily moved if necessary.

The motion approved by the trust authority also addressed a concern repeatedly pressed by residents, by directing LATS fixed routes to be reconfigured to include stops in the downtown area. The need for riders to use facilities such as Lawton Public Library, the Comanche County Courthouse and the Lawton Farmers Market has been one of the strongest arguments of residents who want the transfer center placed on the site of the old police station at Southwest B Avenue and West Gore Boulevard.

One of those residents was at the meeting Tuesday and was angry about the trust’s decision. David Tyler said the selected location “makes no sense at all.”

“Where is your common sense?” Tyler asked during the public comment period of the council meeting that followed the transit trust meeting, adding the former police station site “needs to be the transfer center.”

Tyler has been researching the issue for months, and his analysis has included measurements of the now-cleared police station lot to ensure it is big enough to hold the transfer center and parking sites for up to eight fixed route buses (he said it is).

Tyler said he also has talked extensively to LATS riders and those people want a transfer center close to the existing outdoor site on Southwest B Avenue at Southwest 4th Street, which is within easy walking distance of some of the most visited downtown sites. The site at Southwest B Avenue and Railroad Street doesn’t offer that advantage, Tyler said, adding some riders will have to wait at the library or farmers market for a bus back to the transfer center, to catch the buses that will take them home. He predicted some riders will be waiting outside in adverse weather conditions, or will be tempted to walk to the transfer center when they get tired of waiting for a bus to take them there.

“You’ve accomplished nothing” he said.

Tuesday’s decision frees city staff to begin the next phase of the transfer center project: designs. Trustees voted earlier this month to designate Wendel WD Architecture as the entity the city staff would negotiate with to craft preliminary and construction plans for the transfer center, then the maintenance facility. Council members said they didn’t want those contract negotiations to begin until a site had been selected.

Completion will give Lawton its first indoor facility for those who ride LATS, with amenities to include an inside waiting area, ticket sales counter, restrooms and a breakroom for bus drivers. While federal transportation dollars are available for the project, the bulk of funding is expected to come from the city’s Capital Improvements Program.