START buses picked up their first riders from the newly completed Stilson Transit Center this week.
A stone’s throw from where the old bathroom shack still stands, the new space has a dramatic slanted roof, public art display, covered bike parking and EV car charging.
The vaulted ceilings were an intentional design choice to draw people in, Heather Overholser, Teton County’s director of public works, said.
“If you have a place where you can come in, use the restroom, stay warm until your bus arrives, that is going to incentivize people to utilize transit,” she said.
The project cost north of $14 million and took six years to complete, she said. About half of that – $7.2 million – came from a federal grant. The rest of the project was almost entirely covered by local sales tax revenue through a special purpose excise tax.
Asked whether that is a high price tag, Overholser said: “I have never built a transit center before, but you have to remember we are doing construction in Teton County, Wyoming and I’ll leave it at that.”
Due to the region’s isolation and high cost of doing business, construction can cost nearly four times the national average for residential projects.
Wyoming congressional delegates U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman and Sen. John Barrasso helped cut the ribbon. Barrasso pushed for the project as chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works back in 2020. Teton County received more than $20 million through a BUILD grant for a slate of projects including the transit center.
The facility mirrors Jackson Hole’s world-class status, Barrasso said.
“This is now a destination resort, not just for skiing or hiking or doing other things, but also because of the pathways,” the senator said.
The new waiting area is part of more than $20 million in public transit improvements stretching from Jackson to Driggs, Idaho. (Evan Robinson-Johnson / KHOL)
The Stilson parking lot makeover saw 5 acres of formerly resort-owned gravel parking converted into smooth blacktop, bike storage, and an indoor room for commuters and skiers to warm up. The new lot has about 400 paved spaces. The remaining gravel lot fits an additional 700 cars.
The land for the project was donated by the Kemmerer family which owned Jackson Hole Mountain Resort until 2023. Construction costs came in under budget, thanks in-part due to a low-snow winter that allowed for faster building. A bike locker room is still in the works.
Bike storage is part of the new Stilson Transit Center, which sits at the intersection of several bike pathways. A bike locker room is still in the works. (Evan Robinson-Johnson / KHOL)
START Transit Operations Manager Jason Pitts described public transit as “the ultimate equalizer.”
“You can be rich, poor, broke, having the worst day of your life, or having the best day of life. People ride the bus,” Pitts said.
Now, tourists, skiers and resort workers have the added dignity of a cavernous, renewably-heated space to wait for the blue and white rides.
