From the NWA times. City working for expanded public transit! Finally, covered bus stops! Progress! Ozark Regional Transit, Fayetteville Teaming Up On Projects September 2, 5:00 AM Ron Wood FAYETTEVILLE — Ozark Regional Transit is working with Razorback Transit and the city to make bus stops on North Front Street and Huntsville Road a little nicer and easier to access. A federal grant will pay for benches, shelter pads and sidewalks. The projects, if approved, will put shelters on Front Street at Sterns, near Panera Bread Co. and at the University of Arkansas North Campus at Front Street and Millsap Boulevard. A sidewalk will be built along Huntsville Road from Morningside Drive to Happy Hollow Road, Terry Gulley, city transportation services director, told city council members last week. “We ask our drivers to constantly be on the lookout for where large volumes of people are getting on or off the the bus, high use areas,” said Joel Gardner, executive director of ORT. “The selection process is driven a lot by use.” While the university’s north campus drives much of the traffic in the Front Street area, Gardner said there’s also great access to the city’s trail system. The City Council will take up a resolution Tuesday night to approve an agreement with regional transit for the $154,000 Federal Transit Administration Grant. Regional transit received the money through the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department for New Freedom Projects that benefit those with disabilities. Regional transit is urging cities where it operates to leverage planned transit shelter, bench and sidewalk installations using the New Freedom money to pay for labor and materials. Ozark Regional Transit was awarded shelters and benches through the federal stimulus program, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The New Freedom money will allow the city to install the concrete pads and sidewalks. Regional transit officials say the projects will help build public transit infrastructure and contribute to a livable transportation system. “We go for comfort, accessibility and safety,” Gardner said. “How can we get people on and off the transit system.” The grant requires the city to contribute a 20 percent match, $30,800 worth of labor, engineering administrative services or construction materials. The match will come from the city’s sidewalk improvement program, according to Gulley.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:18:26 +0000