Members of Leaders for Equality in Action in Dayton, who campaigned to get the stops, plan to gather for a prayer at the Wright State University Student Union stop then celebrate by boarding the first bus to Pentagon Boulevard around 6:25 a.m.
“There are quite a few of us, and even though it’s early in the morning we are going to be on that first bus,” said Paula Ewers, LEAD treasurer. “The people won.”
RTA announced this week three new stops on Pentagon Boulevard are ready to open. Beginning Sunday, passengers on Route 1 can use one inbound and two outbound stops. An outbound, or eastbound stop, is located near the Clark State Community College Beavercreek Campus; both an inbound and outbound stop sit across from each other between the mall and the Walmart and Sam’s Club stores.
LEAD’s “Let the Poeple Ride” campaign pressured Beavercreek, filing a discrimination complaint in August 2011 after the city first refused the bus stops. The Federal Highway Administration ultimately sided with the group and found the city had violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Frank Ecklar, RTA director of planning and marketing, called “onerous” some of the city’s initial requests for the bus stops, including each be outfitted with video surveillance cameras and police call boxes but said all those issues have since been resolved.
“We are looking forward to providing access to jobs and educational opportunities along Pentagon Boulevard,” Ecklar said.
“We think this will be very, very helpful for people who work in the area,” said Ewers. She said people will no longer have to make a dangerous walk over I-675 on North Fairfield Road.
The city and RTA came to agreements on concrete pulloffs for buses, pedestrian connectors to sidewalks, and covered shelters. The ADA-compliant shelters are on order and expected to be installed in March, according to Ecklar.
Beavercreek Mayor Brian Jarvis said the community remains “ambivalent” about the stops. He said the project met the timeline the city eventually struck with RTA and the Highway Administration.
“We put together an agreement and it looks like everyone’s meeting the criteria. Over time we’ll see,” Jarvis said. “It was a process everyone had to work through.”
The new stops are on the same route that serves Wright State University. Alternating Route 1 trips will extend service to the new Pentagon Boulevard stops. Service intervals at the new stops will be 60-70 minutes during weekdays and about 90 minutes on weekends, according to the RTA.
In addition to serving workers and shoppers at the mall and area businesses, the new extended route also stops near the Indu and Raj Soin Medical Center.
Ewers said the “Let the People Ride” campaign continues with work dedicated to getting more direct service to the Dayton Mall and monitoring the Pentagon Boulevard route.
Demand south of town has also prompted RTA to extend weekday and weekend service to accommodate second and third shift workers at Austin Landing, according to Ecklar. Those changes are also effective Sunday.
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