VIA Metropolitan Transit is planning to operate its new, rapid transit bus by 2027 or 2028 and has already started construction on road and sidewalk improvements.

Now it’s seeking approval from the City of San Antonio for its Green Line station designs as it prepares to add 26 stops along a 10-mile route between Brooks and the San Antonio International Airport.

VIA shared three bus station designs in an application to the city’s Historic and Design Review Commission, which will consider approving six of the 26 proposed stations located in historic districts.

READ FULL HDRC PRESENTATION: VIA Green Line stops

According to VIA’s application, the bus stations will include covered areas to protect riders from weather, as well as maps, ticket vending machines, seating and public art. Elevated platforms will allow passengers to quickly step on and off buses and speed-up public transit.

VIA plans to build three types of stations. Center stations will be built in the middle of the street and will have a single, 14-foot-wide platform for north and southbound buses. Curbside stations are 10-foot-wide platforms on the side of the road with a northbound and southbound station on each side of the street. And then a smaller station called the “curbside narrow” will be used for stops with less room to build and will be 8.5 feet wide.

The designs are meant to complement VIA’s existing NextGen bus stops that were introduced in 2012, according to a detailed project description.

VIA wants the bus stops’ designs and branding to be consistent.

The stations will include maps, disability access and screens to block bad weather. There will also be papel picado-style panels selected from a contest among local middle and high school students.

The Greenline corridor route
The Green Line corridor route connects passengers to the San Antonio International Airport, downtown and the Spanish Colonial missions along with neighborhoods and businesses. Credit: Courtesy / VIA Metropolitan Transit

The designs and renderings VIA shared are for six of its 26 proposed bus stations, according to its application. Three are in the Monte Vista neighborhood — the northbound Elsmere, Mulberry and Woodlawn stations. One is in King William, the southbound Pereida Station, and two are in the Mission Historic District, the north and southbound Roosevelt Park Station.

Half of those are curbside stations and the other half are curbside narrow stations.

VIA’s application will be considered by the commission at its Jan. 21 meeting.

Jasper Kenzo Sundeen covers business for the San Antonio Report. Previously, he covered local governments, labor and economics for the Yakima Herald-Republic in Central Washington. He was born and raised...