Solano County News & Developments

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Solano County is a county located in Bay-Delta region of the U.S. state of California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. As of 2000 its population was 394,542.[1] The county's population was estimated by the U.S. Census to be 413,344 in 2010. The county seat is Fairfield and the largest city is Vallejo.

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By Sarah Rohrs / Times-Herald

A fleet of local and transportation dignitaries Monday celebrated the new Vallejo Transit Center, a project designed to take the downtown and the waterfront to the next stop, officials said.

The bus transfer station is the first phase of the Vallejo Station Intermodal Facility - a transit-oriented development project envisioned for the waterfront and downtown.

The city's goal is to create a transit village which will include a parking garage and a public paseo connecting the downtown to the waterfront. Other components include commercial uses, a hotel and conference center, restaurants, shops and housing.
The Vallejo Transit Center's roof has a nautical theme, suggesting sails, and the center rotunda looks like a steam liner stack. The words "Vallejo" are imprinted on the top.

"Well done, congratulations and cast away," Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson said, alluding to the sailing theme.

The facility includes a 12-bay bus shelter for transit riders, public parking and an administration building for staff, and to house a new agency overseeing merger of the Vallejo and Benicia bus services.

A variety of federal funding sources made up about half of revenues for the new Vallejo Transit Center while the remaining came from state and regional bridge tolls and other funds.

Nearly 1.4 million riders use Vallejo Transit buses annually, and the new center will serve as a major hub for people traveling to the Bay Area, San Francisco and Napa County, officials said.

Former Public Works Director Gary Leach, who recently retired and worked on the project for many years, said the new bus transfer station puts Vallejo in "a good position for the next economic upswing."