Imola Park & Ride Now Open to the Public

Napa Valley residents and visitors have a new transportation option when getting around. The newly completed $4 million Imola Park & Ride facility will allow people to conveniently meet up for carpools, hop on a Vine express or regional bus starting October 30, and soon charge their electric vehicles.

The Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) and regional transportation leaders officially opened the Imola Park & Ride facility during a ribbon cutting ceremony this morning.

“The Imola Park & Ride, a once dilapidated empty lot on the corridor, has been given new life as a bustling Park & Ride that will serve commuters and visitors alike,” said NVTA Chair Liz Alessio. “By making investments in projects such as this Park & Ride, we are creating more attractive and reliable bus service and active transportation options.”

The Imola Park & Ride features:

• Bus pullouts and platforms on both sides of Highway 29. This will allow regional and express buses to more quickly pick up and drop off riders, resulting in quicker travel times to destinations;
• Sheltered waiting areas with lighting, wayfinding, and (forthcoming) real-time transit information;
• Pavement rehabilitation of the entire parking lot;
• Improved parking lot lighting for safety;
• New sidewalk and bike lane between the parking lot and northbound off-ramp; and
• Forthcoming electric vehicle charging stations.

“Park and Rides provide significant convenience to transit riders particularly when there is ample parking to shorten commutes, a place to charge electric vehicles, and a safe place to park bicycles,” said Ray Tellis, Regional Administrator for the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Region 9. “I believe that these types of creative solutions will bring riders back to our region’s transit systems.”

Funding for this project came from the FTA, the Transportation Fund for Clean Air, and the Transportation Development Act.