When it was first proposed in 2016, a downtown “Transit Center” drew little attention. Today, some would argue that the latest rendition is in the wrong place.

I remember attending meetings with city officials and representatives of the Yolo Transportation District back in 2016 and 2018 about where such a facility could be located. During one meeting, held in 2018, there were only 20 people who attended.

The idea has always been to move Yolo Transit buses from County Fair Mall, and its now-closed Cinemark Movies 5, to a more accessible area, preferably downtown.

During its heyday, the County Fair Mall site handled 94 buses a day with riders going to work in Sacramento as well as Davis, along with students who attend UC Davis and Sacramento State.

Locating a center in central Woodland could facilitate greater “out-of-direction” travel and provide a more centralized point, which would reduce bus operational and maintenance costs.

The six favored locations years ago included Main and Fourth streets, Main and East streets, Armfield Avenue at A Street, or Armfield Avenue and E Street, the old railroad depot in the 1000 block of Lincoln Avenue near the Police Station, and Third and Court streets.

Early last week, residents got a look at a proposed site during a “Pop Up” event on Court Street, north of the Post Office, near Second Street.

“We are here to show what it would look like to have enhanced and expanded transit access here in downtown Woodland,” said Executive Director of the Yolo Transportation District Autumn Bernstein.

I don’t think anyone would argue with the goals of centralized bus service. But they do have an argument with the location, judging by some of the people who have contacted me personally about the idea.

I don’t know where these people were nine years ago, but no matter. They might want to express their views at a meeting of the City Council, scheduled for Feb. 18.

“We are hearing supportive things from those who ride the Yolo Bus service,” Bernstein said. “They want to get out of the County Fair Mall site, where there are a lot of safety issues. We serve about 30,000 rides in Woodland every month. UC Davis students, Woodland Community College students, high school students, and people who work downtown are all telling us they are excited about these changes and want to get to work or school more easily.”

Personally, I don’t have a problem with the location. I would prefer it be located in the city parking lot on the northwest side of College and Court streets, but Bernstein said that site can’t accommodate the turning radius needed for buses and would occupy too much space.

On the other hand, the Court Street location, between Second and Third streets would offer good access to downtown although it would play havoc with people wanting to pick up their mail, or trying to cross Court Street at Second. Others have told me they don’t want the buses because they would bring “riff-raff,” who would create problems for businesses.

Regardless of my opinion, I would hope that those who are in favor or opposed to this latest idea would speak out at the upcoming City Council meeting.

Jim Smith is the former editor of The Daily Democrat, retiring in 2021 after a 27-year career at the paper.