The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) held a certification ceremony during which the Bonneville Transit Center received its official Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum green building certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The Bonneville Transit Center becomes only the third building in all of Southern Nevada to achieve Platinum certification, the highest level of recognition from LEED, the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
On hand for the ceremony were RTC Chairman and Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown; city of Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman; RTC Commissioner and Henderson City Councilwoman Debra March; RTC General Manager Tina Quigley; and U.S. Green Building Council President of Nevada Dave Ray.
"Not only does the Bonneville Transit Center serve as the headquarters of our growing transit system, it symbolizes the RTC's commitment to sustainable transportation and green building," said Brown. "We are extremely proud of achieving LEED Platinum status. The Bonneville Transit Center has joined a very elite group of green buildings, and its efficient design will benefit our community for generations to come."
"With each new LEED-certified building, we get one step closer to the U.S. Green Building Council's vision of a sustainable built environment within a generation," concluded Ray. "As the newest member of the LEED family of green buildings, the Bonneville Transit Center is an important addition to the growing strength of the green building movement."
The Bonneville Transit Center's numerous green features qualified it for LEED Platinum status, including onsite renewable energy generation using solar photovoltaic energy panels to offset peak electricity demands and costs. The building also uses natural day lighting for nearly 80 percent of the building's occupied space, further reducing its energy draw. Overall, the transit center's energy efficient design features are estimated to reduce energy consumption by 58 percent.
In addition to energy efficiency, the Bonneville Transit Center has many water efficient features including landscaping that utilizes desert plants and drip irrigation and low-flow plumbing fixtures that use 50 percent less water than traditional fixtures.
LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health, including sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
The RTC is the transit authority, transportation planning agency and regional traffic management agency for Southern Nevada. The RTC's vision is to provide a safe, convenient and effective regional transportation system that enhances mobility and air quality for citizens and visitors. The RTC encourages residents and visitors to use alternate commute modes to help reduce traffic congestion, clean the air and improve the quality of life in Southern Nevada. For more information, visit rtcsnv.com.
