Providence RI – With the grand opening of the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority’s (RIPTA) new Paratransit Operations Center held on July 26, 2010, the celebration marked the consolidation of all of the RIde Paratransit Program operations into one location. Designed by The Robinson Green Beretta Corporation (RGB), a Rhode Island-based architecture, engineering and interior design firm, the new center will allow the program to run more efficiently by housing the RIde administration, RIde operations, RIde vans and maintenance within this new 139,400sf facility. The RIde program provides door-to-door service for residents with disabilities and seniors who are unable to use traditional bus services based on eligibility requirements of several state agencies’ programs that RIde services. The RIde Program provides trips limited mainly to medical, meal sites, and sheltered workshops. In fiscal year 2010 RIPTA’s RIde Program transported over 615,000 residents. (Statistics provided by RIPTA)
The new facility is located on a 6.2 acre parcel of land along Elmwood Avenue in a commercial and industrial district where numerous 19th century masonry buildings exist. The intent of the building design was to create a new facility with state-of-the-art equipment to accommodate RIPTA’s existing and future Paratransit fleet needs while respecting turn-of-the-century industrial history of the Elmwood area, as well as the historic age of transportation. This was done by designing the 139,400sf structure using modern construction techniques while using steel and masonry in traditional form.
The property was a Brownfield site that both RIPTA and RGB initiated cleanup for planned reuse. Four access points onto and off the site allows for improved circulation and segregation of RIPTA vehicles, services, public parking, and staff parking. Extensive water run-off remediation systems were incorporated including bio swales and approximately 42,500sf of concrete permeable pavers, making it New England’s largest installation of its kind.
The new Paratransit Operations Center consists of three major components: RIPTA administration offices, RIde Paratransit bus interior storage and RIde Paratransit bus maintenance. The two-story administration building is approximately 25,300sf with a direct interior connection to bus storage and a roof top parking deck capable of accommodating 182 personal vehicles. A customer service center is located off the main first floor entrance where the public can come to one central location for ID cards, apply for jobs, obtain bus information, and purchase fare products.
The 83,390sf RIde Bus Storage building allows storing of 108 Paratransit buses comfortably, but can hold an impressive 180 vehicles for storage during inclement weather. The new operations center is expected to save RIPTA thousands in operational and fuel costs. Interior bus storage eliminates the need for additional RIPTA mechanics to be on site at night during the harsh winter months to service idling bus engines which periodically froze while being stored outside. In addition to bus storage, this portion of the facility includes two automated bus washers with a water reclamation system, three interior diesel fueling and lubricant dispensers, and nine high speed coiling garage doors. This facility is capable of accommodating vehicles the size of a car to 40 ft buses, allowing flexibility and versatility of services with direct interior access to RIPTA administration and maintenance shop.
The 40,530sf maintenance building contains parts storage, lubrication and air distribution systems with 12 drops, a tire changing room, welding shop with jib crane, vehicle battery maintenance room, an electronics repair room, and 20 work bays. The work bays include in-ground vehicle exhaust ventilation, ten 30’ in-ground fully self-contained lifts, two 40’ in-ground fully self-contained lifts, and five reconditioned post lifts.
The Paratransit Operations Center offers the latest in security, data, and repair equipment and technology. The new facility has a direct fiber optic connection to the existing campus across Elmwood Ave. Some of the “green” building features include a white reflective roofing system to reduce the heat island affect which helps keep the building cooler and large skylights designed to bring 80 fc of natural light into the maintenance area. In addition, energy efficient lighting, low-E insulated windows, high performing air and vapor barriers, and low VOC containing materials were used throughout the facility. One of the most important green features is the reduction of a footprint utilizing vertical capacities thereby saving room on the site for vehicle parking access and fueling.
At a total project cost of $41 million, the general contractor for the project was H.V. Collins Company