Local Bus Company Hosts a Community Conversation

January 22, 2020

By Monique Harmon

Delaware Transit Corporation hosted a community conversation between them and the bus riders so that Delaware’s residents could address their concerns with DART’s upcoming proposed changes in May 2020.

The Wilmington Transit Hub is currently being built next to the Wilmington Amtrak Station. Unlike the Newark Transit Hub, it will have cushioned seats, live bus arrival information, ticket sales, Wi-Fi, USB charging stations, and more. It will be able to hold up to 10 buses.

Cathy Smith, planning manager of DART, says the goal of the new hub is to have a majority of Dart’s services under one roof.

“Transit is about the critical mass. We’re trying to make it more comfortable for transferring, a little bit easier for people if they have to walk from one street to another to connect with a bus. This way they can do it in one facility,” says Smith.

Both Councilman and Public Works Chair Vash Turner and Councilwoman Yolanda McCoy highlighted the importance of this meeting.

“I like that DART is getting out to get the information to the people. I want to see for the city, state, and county that when we have changes like this, we involve the community to see what changes are necessary, what aren’t necessary, and what’s inconveniencing them so we aren’t just doing a uniform change,” says Councilman Turner. “I’m glad we’re having these information sessions that tells the people. Hopefully they’re giving input.”

The public met at the Wilmington Library on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, with Dart officials where Dart discussed preliminary routing proposals to serve the new Wilmington Transit Center, as well as proposals to improve service in the greater Middletown area.

“The reason why we are so insistent about having these types of workshops and making certain that we promote it to our constituents because everyone feels like they were caught off guard [before]. A lot of the decisions are basically made through the state and if we can at least give our input on what these routes look like, then it won’t be as though they’re making the decisions for us and we have to adjust, fall in line and adapt,” says McCoy.

John Calnan says that a few riders were concerned if this new addition would affect their ride. “Their bus stop doesn’t change, the route may change slightly, but it’ll actually get them there faster or in the same amount of time. With or without a minor routing change,” says Calnan.

 

He says the decision will be finalized in six weeks. Smith says the proposed plans aren’t set in stone. “It’ll go into a public hearing process. We want the community and the public to be apart of that planning process. As we’re formulating the proposals, we’re getting commentary. It will be discussed interdepartmentally. As we’re formulating safety operations, facilities, scheduling, [and] planning with all of the departments,” says Smith.

Kevin Racine takes an optimistic approach to travel through Delaware and beyond. He’s from Maryland but now lives in Little Italy. He tests routes to see how he can get to different places inside and outside of Delaware.

“As I’ve talked to several people this evening, that put me on a task of saying ‘I can’t make that destination stop.’ I know you can,” says Racine.

He puts himself on a bus and challenges himself to get home if buses stop running at a particular time. He says it’s important to educate people on how to get to places when the buses are running and when they aren’t running.

“It’s one thing to look at a plan, but unless you get out and use the plan, then it’s always going to be on paper,” says Racine.

Some residents had concerns about their bus ride situations. Rachel Henry lives near Cab Calloway School of Arts and says it’s hard to cross the street because of how busy it is and there aren’t any street lights when it gets dark.

“I literally have to dart between cars. I’m trying to catch the bus. There’s no shelter there for seniors or a person who might have any type of injuries or knee problems,” says Henry. “Where Dunkin Donuts is, there used to be a stop there. There’s not anymore. If I got off at the last stop, then that would still mean I have to walk six blocks to get home.”

Log onto dartfirststate.com or call 1-800-652-DART and click on “community conversations” to submit any questions or concerns on their comment forum. Residents will also be able to view all the proposed routing changes on maps. Councilman Turner says that residents can also call City Council.