As the Lawrence City Commission considers authorizing another study to determine the right location for a transit hub, city leaders should look again at a location that has already been ruled out.

A hub near 21st and Iowa streets on vacant land owned by KU Endowment was abandoned in 2015 amid concerns from nearby residents. But as the city gets ever closer to the 2018 sunset of the .55 percent citywide sales tax that helps fund the transit service, the site remains the best option for achieving the goal of being centrally located and benefitting both the University of Kansas and the city.

The transfer location for the city’s bus operations is temporarily in the 700 block of Vermont Street, directly across the street from the Lawrence Public Library. But there is limited space at the downtown site, which can’t accommodate the number of buses necessary for a hub.

The transit hub is key to the service. Once a true hub is established, transit leaders can redesign routes for maximum efficiency and reduced costs, which is central to continued public support of the bus service.

The transit center hub has been a topic of discussion for more than four years. Lawrence Public Transit Administrator Robert Nugent said all possible sites will be considered in the latest study.

“We’re going to look at the data again, and if the data drives us toward doing something in the downtown — even though that’s not where it drove us the first time — we’d be open to that,” Nugent said. “So we’re really open to whatever the study points us toward.”

The study is part of the Lawrence-Douglas County Metropolitan Planning Organization’s proposed work plan for 2017 and would also take into account road networks and demographics. The original study, done in 2012, pointed to 21st and Iowa as a location with merit, but residents in the area complained that the hub would create congestion and noise in the surrounding neighborhood, and the city backed away from the site.

The city also considered a $30 million multimodal transit hub near the KU Ambler Student Recreation Fitness Center. That plan was abandoned last year after the city failed to win a federal transportation grant that would have covered half of the project’s cost.

There is a desire to locate the transit hub downtown, but that would likely be the most expensive option for building a facility.

Meanwhile, the city may have to ask voters to renew the transit service tax without knowing what the plans are for the transit service. Nugent said the study won’t be complete and a recommendation on a new site won’t be made until 2018.

That’s a tight spot for the city to be in — all the more reason to reconsider sites ruled out previously, including the 21st and Iowa site.