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Cutting the ribbon are (from left to right) MCDOT Director Al Roshdieh, Council President Nancy Floreen, Westfield
Montgomery Senior Vice President, Clive MacKenzie and MCDOT Transit Services Division Chief Carolyn Biggins |
Montgomery County officials joined Westfield Montgomery Mall
leaders to celebrate the opening of the Westfield Montgomery Mall Transit
Center. The relocated center provides additional customer amenities and better
traffic circulation.
“The County is proud to manage a transit center that connects
riders to seven bus lines, eight Metrorail stations and a signed bike route,”
said Leggett. “This transit center provides better bus circulation and
passenger amenities, while making room for Westfield’s future expansion plans.”
The new transit center includes six covered bus bays, three bus
layover spaces, more passenger seating and more room for buses to park, make
turns and lay over. Convenient commuter parking includes 156 automobile parking
spaces and bicycle racks that accommodate 20 bikes.
Additionally, passengers will enjoy a well-lit, seated waiting
area with glass wind breaks and radiant heat, as well as a display of real time
bus arrival information and 24-hour surveillance cameras. The Westfield
Montgomery Mall Transit Center currently provides 2,500 passenger boardings
daily.
Westfield Montgomery Mall Transit Center was open to the
public on Sunday, May 1, 2016. The new
transit center will serve the same bus
routes as the previous center, i.e., Ride On bus routes 6, 26, 42, 47 and 96
and Metrobus routes J2 and J3.
The Transit Center is a public/private partnership. The total
project cost was approximately $7 million dollars. Westfield Montgomery spent
$6 million and Montgomery County spent $1.1 million in a jointly managed
construction project. Montgomery County began managing operations of the
transit center in April.
In the new configuration, buses accessing the new transit center
will enter and exit via Motor City Drive. The three bus bays at the existing
transit center just off Westlake Terrace will close when the new transit center
opens on Sunday, May 1. However, a bus stop will remain on Westlake Terrace for
routes 42 and 47 to and from Rockville.
Buses travelling to and from the Westfield Montgomery Mall Transit
Center connect riders to the Bethesda, Medical Center, Grosvenor/Strathmore,
White Flint, Twinbrook, Rockville, Silver Spring, and Glenmont Metrorail
stations. In terms of bicycle access, the Transit Center is adjacent to
Westlake Terrace which has bike lanes from Westlake Drive to Fernwood Road.
Additionally, Westlake Terrace is part of a bike route with wayfinding signs
that guide cyclists to their destinations from Westfield Montgomery Mall to the
Bethesda Capital Crescent Trail and central business district.
For more photos of the grand opening of Westfield Mall Transit Center
click here.
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| MCDOT Director Al Roshdieh, Division of Transit Chief Carolyn Biggins and Transit Program Manager Deanna Archey celebrated the opening of the new transit center at Westfield Montgomery Mall. |
