Park ’n’ Ride adds Pullman history display
BUTLER TWP — Riders of the commuter service to and from the Pullman Center Business Park now can wait for the bus among a “museum” of memorabilia and photos from Pullman-Standard Freight Car Company.
When Butler Transit Authority board member Jim Diamond heard the authority was putting an addition on to its main facility at the former site of Pullman Standard, the former engineer for the defunct industrial manufacturing company asked other ex-employees for remnants of their work.
Many of them responded, and now the new waiting area has employee photos, overhead shots of the manufacturing plant, model rail cars and engine parts on display.
“Everybody had some of their old stuff in their basements,” Diamond said. “What we were going for is no one has a clue now about what Pullman was. I think it’s great to have this here now.”
The Butler Transit Authority unveiled the new waiting area, as well as the rest of its new addition, Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting and open house.
John Paul, the authority’s executive director, said the addition completes work that began about 20 years ago, when the authority received the first federal grant to build the park ’n’ ride in the Pullman Center Business Park. The new training area and waiting room represent the final phase of the facility. Construction began on the two new rooms in March 2021.
“It takes everyone working toward the same goal to complete these long-term projects that will benefit the public for decades,” Paul said.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-Certified Transit Center consists of an administration building, maintenance and wash bay building, and a bus storage facility. The facility expansion includes a new passenger wait area and training room, which were the focus of the open house Tuesday.
The new park ’n’ ride lot also added 47 parking spaces for commuters, and was constructed next to the authority’s existing lot, which also got a 24-space expansion. The project also added two bus shelters to the new bus boarding area.
The project investment is about $3 million, with 80% of funding coming from the federal government and the other 20% from state and local sources, according to a news release.
Andy Batson, chief of planning and project delivery for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said he is most excited about the new training area, which will give current and prospective drivers a place to debrief and learn and review procedures.
Butler County Commissioners Leslie Osche and Kim Geyer spoke at the ribbon-cutting and highlighted the need for transportation in a community such as Butler County, which has a large rural population in addition to numerous urban and suburban residents.
“We want to be able to attract and keep young people and families in our community,” Osche said. “People want a quality of life that says, ‘I can get where I want to go and enjoy all the beauty and the features.’ That’s really important to young people when they make decisions about where they are going to live.”
Art Guzzetti, vice president of policy and mobility with the American Public Transportation Association, said access to convenient public transportation makes communities stronger and more prosperous.
Diamond said he is proud to not only be on the transit authority board while the additions were unveiled, but also to have brought a piece of history to it as well.
“It was a lot of work, a lot of action that was done here,” Diamond said. “We intend to add more as time goes on.”
