Soltrans’ Sereno Transit Center in Vallejo gets brighter

SolTrans officials say they hope some cosmetic tweaks made to the Sereno Transit Center will make it safer and more comfortable.

On Dec. 5, SolTrans Board Chair and Benicia Mayor, Elizabeth Patterson, flipped the switch at the center to turn on the new tree lights that will help to enhance the once dark facility, they said.

These lights, along with additional signage, new seating in the bus shelters and upgraded security, were a planned project that the staff at SolTrans has been addressing over the last few months to improve the stations’ aesthetics along with the comfort and safety of their riders and staff, officials said.

“We came out and visited the site this past summer and came up with a plan to coincide with the end of daylight savings and the holidays to brighten the transit center,” SolTrans Executive Director Beth Kranda said. “Our team surveyed the center and came up with some solutions to making it cleaner, brighter and more secure.”

The lights in the trees, new seats in the bus shelters and some soon-to-be-added shrubs, are all part of a bigger plan to continue to make all SolTrans facilities more comfortable for riders and to add to their “curb appeal,” officials said.

“It started out as a clean-up project and then we thought about making it look more beautiful for the holidays and so we tied it to SolTrans Holiday Open House on Dec. 5,” spokeswoman Deanna Troupe said. “There were no attacks, complaints or community concerns (that prompted the project) — SolTrans just was taking a proactive stance at making their Transit Center a safer and more beautiful site.”

Presently, the center’s covered bus stops are bedecked in colorful holiday lights, but those will be gone once the holiday season ends, Troupe said.

SolTrans officials will continue to look at all bus stops and try to implement a more positive look for all of them in time, she said.

At least two frequent riders at the site Monday think the new additions are a net positive.

“It’s nice,” said Leonard Jones of Vallejo. “It looks nice, and it gives you a little light. The place didn’t have much light. It makes it more comfortable.”

Susie Morris, also of Vallejo, said she hadn’t noticed the additions until they were pointed out to her Monday. But, once she did, she said she could see the benefit.

“It will probably help at night, with crime,” Morris said.

SolTrans invites the community to visit the transit center at 765 Sereno Drive to see the improvements first hand and welcomes their comments and thoughts on how to continue to improve the transit centers and bus shelters.

For complete bus routes and schedules please visit soltransride.com or call (707) 648-4666.