The county has granted a permanent easement along Hospitality Lane to the county transportation agency to facilitate the sbX project.
The Omnitrans sbX E-Street Corridor Bus Rapid Transit Project is a rapid speed, bus service involving dedicated bus lanes and alternative-fuel powered articulated busses that will provide transportation for students, seniors, commuters and transit-dependent residents between the Veterans Administration hospital in Loma Linda and Cal State San Bernardino.
The sbX corridor will stretch approximately 16 miles with six major destinations to include the California State University San Bernardino campus, E Street in downtown San Bernardino, the Orange Show Fairgrounds, Hospitality Lane near the Hunts Lane intersection, Loma Linda University Medical Center, and the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Loma Linda.
The line is to be constructed such that the bus will not need to stop at red lights and will be able to go from one end of the route to the other in 22 minutes.
The county transportation agency, San Bernardino Associated Governments, known by its acronym SANBAG, on behalf of Omnitrans, is requested an easement over county-owned property located at 222 W. Hospitality Lane for the construction of that portion of the project that extends along Hospitality Lane at the Hunts Lane intersection. The project requires a permanent public street easement containing approximately 489 square feet and a temporary construction easement, containing approximately 753 square feet, in order to widen the public street for the bus lane.
SANBAG appraised the required easements and made an offer in accordance with Government Code Section 7267.2. Compensation to the county includes the appraised value of $10,700 for the easement areas plus $5,000 to replace/refurbish the existing on-premise sign for a total of $15,700. A summary of the appraisal was provided to the Real Estate Services Department for review and was determined to be reasonable compensation for the rights being acquired and the on-premise sign improvements.
SANBAG anticipates the proposed construction on or near the county-owned property will take approximately six months. SANBAG further ensures it will construct the project in this area on nights and weekends to limit interruption of County business operations at the 222 W. Hospitality Lane building.
The project is not without controversy. At a cost of $190 million, it will include $54 million in federal subsidies. A number of businesses along the route, particularly those located on Hospitality Lane have misgivings about the elimination of the center lane on those thoroughfares to accommodate the bus line, which will eliminate as well motorists’ options to turn left except at intersections. This will, entrepreneurs maintain, result in potential customers bypassing their businesses because of the need for those in vehicles to perform u-turns or left turns at intersections coupled with a u-turn on a cross street to reverse direction and to then be able to access those businesses’ parking lots.
Other critics of the project point out that an existing bus line already runs between Loma Linda and the state college and that those busses have a very limited ridership.