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( Y , ~" ~ ; ~~ ~ r ur rrn ~ ' ^ The Senator Hotel block is the panel's top option for a new Cherriots hub. ! By John Henrikson The Statesman Journal Cherriots riders are one stop closer to having a new and improved downtown bus mall after transit board action Thursday. Salem Area Mass Transit officials have chosen the Senator Hotel block as the best of three sites under consideration. The board vote Thursday isn't a final decision, but it means real progress toward building the long-delayed transit mall, said R.G. Andersen- Wyckoff, Cherriots general manager. "We're now setting a di- rection," he said. "We're still looking at all three sites, but we're pursuing the Sen- ator block." The transit district has been trying for years to se- cure an off-street site to re- place the crowded bus hub in the 100 block of High Street NE but has run into What's next Here are the next steps in the transit mall site selection pro- cess: ^ Cherriots officials will work with affected governments, busi- ness groups and property owners to make a final recom- mendation for a site. The Sena- tor block will be the site of primary consideration, but two other sites still wilF be evaluated. ^ The transit district board of directors will decide on a site at its November meeting. political, financial and logis- tical obstacles. Most recently, a special transit district task force was split evenly on three downtown sites: the Senator block, the Washington Mu- tual Bank block and the Greyhound bus station block. But the district staff broke the tie after examin- ing the practicality of each site, Andersen-Wyckoff said. Marion County owns most of the 200 block be- tween Church and High streets, one block north of the county courthouse. The county now has offices in two of the buildings on the block but ' ra~~~ idea of un- services building in t e block. It has not been deter- mined where the transit mall would be placed in the Senator block. The block has these ad- vantages, Cherriots staff said: i;'%~ . __.. _..,.-~ H fi! R . .:ilt„+Ltl$ t:.OMMISSION R \ ~f ~- kr~~, oF~ic"e9 COPY ~ ;+~l~~~r~~+~_~r~ ~:~ ~7,~ ~~~ l ^ It has the best tr: accessibility and circula patterns. ^ The cost of buying 1 would be lower, and block already is mostl3 public ownership. ^ It has the support o: fected property owners, ~ ernment agencies and b ness groups. The pressure is on Cherriots officials to cho design and raise money the site by next Septen or risk losing $2 millior federal transportat money.