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TriMet General Manager Neil McFarlane on Wednesday presented a proposal to create an off-street bus layover site at Northeast Lombard Street and Sixth Avenue.

The half-acre property, at 511 N.E. Lombard St., would become the agency’s first off-street facility in Portland. It would take buses off streets when parked (this practice has generated complaints from neighbors along the Line 8 route), and provide bus drivers a private and secure place to take short breaks, TriMet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt said.

Currently, TriMet operators park along streets while they use restroom facilities at private businesses. The agency has agreements in place with those businesses, Altstadt said.

TriMet would need to purchase the proposed site, which abuts one occupied by Champion Sweeping. The property could accommodate three buses at a time, likely meaning buses would pull in about every eight minutes during peak hours, Altstadt said. Potentially, drivers of other lines also could use the site.

“We’re looking at a place where we would have room to park about three buses and put in a facility for our operators,” she said. “That may be a modular facility, but down the road we may look at building a permanent facility.”

McFarlane presented the location as the preferred option among 11 possibilities because it’s farthest from residences and in a mostly industrial area, Altstadt said. The budget, if it were approved, would be $2.2 million and cover construction to make Northeast Sixth Avenue an access road to the lot and erect a sound wall at one end of the property.

McFarlane presented the proposal to TriMet’s board of directors, who still need to discuss the potential property purchase and any improvements that would be made, Altstadt said. They are expected to discuss the issue at their July 24 meeting.