A busy Camden downtown block would become a pedestrian plaza under a proposed design for an improved Walter Rand Transportation Center.
The proposal to close Broadway between Federal Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was one of three preliminary designs unveiled Thursday by NJ Transit. Two others would keep Broadway open for traffic.
Those alternative options, however, would increase the risk for patrons transferring between the River LINE on one side of the congested street and the terminal's bus lines on the other, NJ Transit said.
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"The design concepts are based on previous public input sessions where suggestions and comments were taken," according to the transit agency.It said public input showed the greatest concerns were for public safety and an upgrade to the area around the center.
The agency's presentations also noted that construction of a new center is still well in the future. This project is currently in an 18-month preliminary design phase, to be followed by a two-year final engineering phase.
The plan with a pedestrian plaza would improve safety for River LINE and PATCO connections and would allow for the shortest travel routes. It also would reduce delays by eliminating "circuitous bus routings," according to NJ Transit's presentation.
All three designs would allow passengers to transfer between bus lines inside the terminal. They'd also meet current and future bus demand, and would allow "smooth internal bus flow," NJ Transit said.
The designs were unveiled at public meetings held by NJ Transit on Thursday.
It noted that the state has committed $250 million to replace and expand the center, which was built in 1989.
"The new center would better accommodate the 24 bus lines that serve the facility," the statement said.
It's also intended to improve connections between bus and rail lines, to support intercity bus services, and to offer more parking, business uses and administrative space.
In addition, Camden County Improvement Authority officials are pursuing a potential tower above the planned center.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: [email protected].