Tracy Press

After christening a high school pool, football field and a handful of parks this past year, there’s another project in Tracy that needs a name.

The City Council charged a subcommittee Tuesday night to come up with a name for downtown Tracy’s future bus and train terminal, which until now has been generically dubbed the "multimodal station."

Councilwoman Evelyn Tolbert and Councilman Steve Abercrombie volunteered at the council meeting to serve on the subcommittee.

The committee will debate whether to name the entire station or come up with different names for different parts of the station, Abercrombie said.

The 6,800-square-foot hub is slated to open as early as summer 2009, according to the city, which has two more years and $12 million available in state grants and transportation tax money to build the terminal. Already, the city has spent several million dollars on consultants, soil tests, design and acquiring the actual land.

Coming up with a name at this point is mandatory, Parks and Community Service Director Rod Buchanan said. Logistically, it needs a name before construction starts and signs can be bought, he added. But those aren’t the only reasons.

"Then we want the public to take ownership of the project," he said. "We want them to take an interest in this ... to take a part in its future."

Four years ago, the city adopted a set of guidelines for naming public places. The center could be named after a person, the site’s geographic location or after communities that gave it historic significance, to name a few criteria.

"It’s important that this is a public process, an inclusive process," Buchanan said. "We want to get diverse opinions before we make a decision on the name."

When built, the station would face Sixth Street, and a clock tower facing Central Avenue would serve as a main entrance. The buildings would include a bus lobby and conference rooms, according to city staff reports. More than 18,000 square feet of parking lots, bus loading zones and landscaping would surround the terminal.

Once construction starts, it should take up to a year to finish, city officials said, though Abercrombie added it’s too soon to tell when a name will be voted on.