Buses and Trotwood: The rest of the story

By Doug Page | Monday, April 27, 2009, 08:47 AM

Because of breaking swine flu news, portions of the story on the Trotwood bus controversy were omitted from the Monday paper. The Web has no such space limitations.

So here’s the rest of the story.

Residents of several Trotwood neighborhoods hoping to put the brakes on Greyhound moving its operation from downtown Dayton to Trotwood say they are protecting their suburban lifestyle.

Several citizen groups want the city or someone to stop the proposed move to the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority hub at the intersection of Denlinger and Shiloh Springs, just east of Salem Avenue (Ohio 49).

“We want someone to put a halt to this,” said Flora Northern, president of the Broadmoor I Neighborhood Association. “We want someone to say this shouldn’t be.”

Opponents contend the additional bus traffic will disrupt the neighborhood, destroy city streets and lead to an increase in crime. The bus hub, which opened in 2000, sits at what was once the entrance to the Salem Mall, one of the largest retail areas in the Miami Valley during the 1960s and ‘70s. The mall was demolished in 2006.

For the residential neighborhood just north of the hub, opponents said the additional traffic and diesel fumes from the 18 to 20 Greyhound buses would hurt residents along Denlinger Avenue and endanger pedestrians. Northern said there are several daycare centers and an assisted living center and nursing home farther north on Denlinger.

The RTA hub already handles around 290 of its buses daily.

City Manager Mike Lucking said the additional bus traffic would have little effect on city streets. Much of that traffic would be on Ohio 49 to Interstate 70. “Those roads are built to handle that type of traffic,” he said.

“We don’t have any concerns about safety and security because the Northwest Hub is a well-managed site and I really don’t see any of the negatives,” Mark Donaghy, RTA executive director, said at a packed City Council meeting April 6.

Lucking has asked Police Chief Quincy Pope to assess safety concerns at the RTA hub. Pope said Friday the data leads him to conclude there is little cause for concern.

“There is no evidence that if you ride a RTA bus or a Greyhound bus that you are more likely to commit a crime,” he said. Pope said his department has answered about 56 calls for service to the RTA hub each of the last two years, mostly to assist people rather than to investigate a crime.

The chief said his determination had nothing to do with being for or against the proposal. “As chief, my obligation is to offer the most fair and accurate advice. That advice is not always the most popular.”

Councilman Rap Hankins, whose 2nd Ward includes the RTA hub, said he understands that people are upset.

“RTA has a political and moral responsibility to hear and address the concerns of Trotwood citizens,” Hankins said. “At the same time, RTA has every legal right to have a Greyhound ticket office inside a terminal it owns.”

“The ball is in RTA’s court,” he said.

RTA executive director Mark Donaghy said Friday, April 24, the company is planning to meet with residents, either at a future City Council meeting or at the RTA hub.

Northern of the Broadmoor group said the RTA hub never should have been located where it is. “It’s a (residential) area. It is so inconsiderate to even discuss a bus terminal,” she said.

Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: Trotwood