City breaks ground on Downtown Mobility Hub

Dirt flung into the air Tuesday as the City of San Marcos broke ground on a new Downtown Mobility Hub. 

The mobility hub, which will be located at 214 Hutchinson St., is a project that will be designed to beautify downtown and provide San Marcans and visitors with a space for all modes of transportation.  

“This is incredibly exciting,” city councilmember Lisa Prewitt said. “I think some of us didn’t know if we would ever arrive at this day … The Downtown Mobility Hub will provide amenities such as shade structures, benches, bike racks and repair stations, water stations for humans and your furry friends, a public art space and a stage for some impromptu music jams.” 

With the new mobility hub, the Capital Area Rural Transportation system plans to move a section of its bus routes from Hopkins Street to Hutchinson Street and add bus shelters, which is expected to be safer for riders. 

“This space will also provide additional connectivity and mobility options for San Marcos for its residents and visitors,” Prewitt said, 

 San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson addresses the crowd at Tuesday's groundbreaking for the city's new mobility hub.

The City bought the lot in 2010 and demolished a dry cleaning building that was on the space. A parking lot was originally planned for the lot but the green light was given to build a “transportation hub” to beautify the lot in 2018. 

“This could’ve been just a single serving parking lot but it’s going to serve hundreds and hundreds of people,” said Carina Pinales, who spoke at Tuesday’s event. “I’m so happy to see everyone in the community that made that vision come to life. I think this will be a catalyst for other spaces in the city to give us creative options and opportunity for so many more people.” 

Joe Ptak, chairman of San Marcos CARTS transit board, said he’s proud of how many fingerprints are on the mobility hub’s inception.

“I hope this is the first of many projects that little groups and committees and groups of citizens share their ideas, get together, get city staff and council behind them and create a whole lot more like this,” Ptak said.

  Those in attendance at the mobility hub's groundbreaking stand for a photo in front of the broken dirt. 

Prewitt added that San Marcos will continue to grow and will need ahead of traffic congestion. 

“We need to invest in all of these modes of transportation,” Prewitt said, “and if we don’t, we’re not doing our job in the world of transportation. It’s going to take small spaces like this and regional conversations and connectivity to create the quality of life that our residents and our visitors deserve.” 

The project is tentatively expected to be completed by August.