In December 2001, the efforts of three transit partners were realized when ATA broke ground and the Arkansas Public Transit Safety and Resource Center took form. The Arkansas Transit Association,  Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) , and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) worked together to fund a facility to house the growing Arkansas Transit Association’s staff and hold state-wide transit classes, meetings, and events. One year later, a building that surpassed all expectations was completed. The architects–Tom Fennell, Phil Purifoy, and Randy Hammock of Fennell Purifoy Hammock Architects–created a facility that provides optimum space and technology in an elegant and memorable design. The Center was presented with Arkansas’ highest Award by the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 2004.

The Arkansas Transit Association provides includes full-time staff members, an Operations Director to assist with building and technology needs, a Safety & Training Director to facilitate training covering a wide range of topics, and a Communications Coordinator who manages member relations and develops media and communication efforts for the Association.

The Arkansas Public Transit Safety and Resource Center offers more than a venue for training. Its convenient location near Little Rock’s popular River Market District and North Little Rock’s Argenta Arts District is a draw for attendees who want to mix business with pleasure. The Center is just a short walk or trolley ride from fine dining, hotels, shopping, entertainment, and local attractions, including Simmons Bank Arena and the William J. Clinton Presidential Center.

Comfort, style, and state-of-the art technology–the Arkansas Public Transit Safety and Resource Center provides it all. With almost 10,000 square feet of geothermal-heated and cooled space, the Center houses the Arkansas Transit Association’s administrative offices and serves as a training center for Arkansas’s public entities, non-profit organizations, and businesses that support public transit initiatives. Members of the Arkansas Transit Association may take advantage of the large, multi-purpose Training Room, the Executive Training Room and the impressive lobby that has an 18-foot beamed ceiling, limestone walls, and meeting registration space.

If you have any questions about using our facility for training or events, please contact our Communications Coordinator, Rebecca East at reast@arktransit.org.