The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, branded as METRO, is Houston’s public transportation agency. METRO operates bus, light rail, HOV and HOT lanes, and paratransit service throughout the metropolitan area. Located southwest of the city, at the junction of Interstate I-69 and the Sam Houston Tollway, the West Bellfort Park & Ride facility offers commuters morning and afternoon express bus service to and from downtown Houston, as well as local service across the southern and western outlying neighborhoods.

Originally a sprawling, 25-acre collection of surface parking lots, the West Bellfort parking structure consolidates 3,000 parking spaces into a 950-foot by 190-foot footprint, nearly tripling the facility’s total parking capacity. The garage’s two main stair-elevator cores connect directly to the bus terminal. While protected from the weather, the open stairwells and glass-back elevators provide excellent visibility for way-finding and security. The cast-in-place, post-tensioned concrete building’s façade architecture is simple yet distinctive, with angular elements that evoke a sense of motion and dynamics. The large canopies along the north façade provide some pedestrian scale and protect transit passengers from the elements.

Project Highlights:

• Direct access to the METRO transit bus terminal along the north face of the garage
• 2 pedestrian cores with open stairs and glass-backed elevators
• 2 independent parking ramps, configured to function as a double-thread
• 46 over-sized parking spaces for larger trucks and SUVs in the corners on every level
• Bicycle storage on Level 1
• Bus driver relief area on Level 1