A bus hub at Fashion Island is at the center of a discussion over where to move one of Newport Beach’s aging fire stations. City officials tout the potential relocation as one that would improve response times for certain neighborhoods.
The Newport Beach City Council took an initial step toward exploring the move during its June 10 meeting with a 6-0 vote to send a letter to the Orange County Transportation Authority, which operates the Newport Transportation Center.
Councilmember Noah Blom called the bus hub on Avocado Avenue “an ideal spot” for Fire Station No. 3, which currently resides next to the Newport Beach Police Department headquarters on Santa Barbara Drive.
“It’s very difficult to build something while a building is still there,” he said. “We’re looking at the transportation center. The process is long and requires a lot of moving pieces and a lot of work.”
Joel Zlotnik, an OCTA spokesperson, confirmed that his agency has received Newport Beach’s request to move the fire station there while completely relocating the bus hub.
As the OCTA evaluates the suggested swap, Zlotnik deemed the transportation center “vital” to the county’s transit network.
“The Newport Transportation Center has consistently ranked among the top-performing transit hubs in the county,” he said. “It is not only a key link for travel along the coast, but also provides critical access to jobs, retail, hospitality, and medical services in the Newport Center area.”
In 2023, the bus hub counted nearly 140,000 boardings, with an additional 64,000 boardings at bus stops around Newport Center Drive.
Leaders with Teamsters Local 952, which represents bus drivers, cited safety concerns for workers in a June 9 letter to OCTA’s board of directors that firmly supported relocating the bus hub.
“We believe this is a true win-win scenario for all stakeholders involved, including OCTA, the city of Newport Beach and most importantly, the frontline workers and residents who rely on safe and reliable transit and essential emergency services,” wrote Teamsters Local 952 President John Green and Secretary-Treasurer Eric Jimenez.
OCTA officials call the Newport Transportation Center a “vital” transit link.
(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)
Newport Beach officials touted cutting down fire department response times as a chief reason in support of the move.
According to a city staff report, the Newport Beach Fire Department carried out a recent analysis that concluded the current location of Fire Station No. 3 is 2.5 miles from the Port Streets neighborhood, a distance than can led to response times in excess of the National Fire Protection Assn.’s four-minute standard.
Moving the fire station to the location that currently houses the bus hub would shave off an estimated three-to-four minutes from response times.
“Timely response is critical to protecting life, property, and the environment in our community,” Newport Beach Fire Chief Jeff Boyles wrote in a June 4 letter to Mayor Joe Stapleton and the rest of the council in support of relocation.
During the June 10 council meeting, Councilmember Robyn Grant wanted the fire department to prepare a more robust statistical analysis, as she has heard from residents both in favor of and opposed to relocating the fire station to the bus hub.
“I wonder about other communities that are served by that station,” she said.
But as the process is just getting started, all councilmembers present voted in support of sending OCTA a letter.
Zlotnik noted that any possible relocation would have to go through a lengthy planning process that includes a specific operations analysis and alternative sites study.
“It’s far too early to speculate what a potential relocation study would find,” Zlotnik said. “What we can say is that the Newport Transportation Center is an important part of OCTA’s system, providing a vital public service for the tens of thousands of residents, workers and visitors who rely upon transit each month.”
