Laketran trustees July 28 approved a face lift to one of the most frequently used of the transit authority’s hubs.
By the end of fall, those trustees anticipate a three-shelter transfer station across the street from what is currently a one-shelter stop on St. Clair Street near Main Street in Painesville.

Laketran Director of Marketing Julia Schick said the upgrades will improve safety at a location where drivers and pedestrians could experience safety problems.

Laketran Deputy General Manager Andy Altenweg said the county provided the property on which the new station will sit.
The construction — including pavement, shelter construction and landscaping — will cost $287,752 and is 80 percent funded with federal money. Platform Cement Inc. of Mentor was awarded that low bid. The local match works out to $57,550.

Three major routes pass through the current stop: Routes 1, 4 and 5.
Those same lines will use the new station but will approach from the south.
Route 1 — Laketran’s first route, which started in 1985 — treks from Painesville to the Great Lakes Mall before heading to Lakeland Community College.
Route 4 carts riders from Madison to Painesville.
Route 5 makes stops in Fairport Harbor and the downtown Painesville area.

Lake County and the City of Painesville have been involved in the design conversations, Schick said.
The Downtown Painesville Organization has spearheaded grant-writing and coordination for a city construction nicknamed the Streetscape Project.  Schick said Laketran piggybacked on those design plans in order to cut costs on design and to form a cohesive design scheme for the area.

“Right now they’re working with a single shelter,” Altenweg said. “Something needed to be done.”
A CT Consultants rendering shows three indented spaces for 40-foot buses, each with its own shelter.
Shade trees, brick pavers, light poles and handrails are elements of the plans pictured in the drawing.

The area will sit just west of the Lake County Department of Job and Family Services.