With the number of people riding buses increasing, Island Transit officials are looking for new places to situate a park and ride lot.

One possible location is at the Greenbank Farm, which is owned by the Port of Coupeville.

Island Transit wants to place a 100-car lot on 2.5 acres of land at the publicly-owned farm. There is a park and ride lot at the Greenbank Progressive Hall. However one at the farm would be more visible to commuters, and that might encourage more of them to take the bus.

“It doesn’t have the exposure we’d like to have for the commuters,” Island Transit Operations Supervisor Roy Daniel said during Wednesday’s Port of Coupeville meeting of the current lot at the Progressive Hall.

He said the Greenbank Farm is a great location for the lot because it is centrally located, it’s publicly owned and it’s in a spot that is easily accessible to the highway.

Daniel attended the meeting to give the three-member board a firsthand look at Island Transit’s proposal. The port district owns the commercial areas of the farm. The park and ride lot could only go on commercially-zoned land at the farm, which is located on either side of Wonn Road.

Daniel said the proposed lot would be have a park-like setting with plenty of landscaping and buffers.

Port Executive Director Jim Patton questioned whether the lot could be used for parking during Greenbank Farm events.

Daniel seemed to be open to that possibility and added that bus service would operate every hour on Wonn Road.

“We’ve got a lot of flexibility to do these things,” Daniel said.

Daniel said Island Transit would want the lot completed in two years. That’s the deadline to use the funding allocated for park and ride lots.

The commissioners didn’t make any decisions either way concerning the park and ride lot. Commissioner Benye Weber said the port is busy enough trying to implement its recently-approved comprehensive plan.

“We are on the fast track to implement portions of that,” Weber said.

The port commissioners want to see something in writing from Island Transit in January about the proposed lot. That way it can go before one of the focus groups that will be formed to help produce the master site plan for the Greenbank Farm.

Daniel said he was encouraged by what he perceived to be the positive reception the commissioners gave to Island Transit’s proposal.