A disconnect between the community’s needs for transportation services and the level of public transit currently provided sparked a meeting in Grove, where local legislators and transportation officials sought input on how to close the gap.
Del. Monty Mason (D-93rd District) and James City County Supervisor John McGlennon organized a meeting Tuesday at Colonial Manor Senior Community to start the discussion. Williamsburg Area Transit Authority and Hampton Roads Transit officials turned out, and presented service information before looking to the public for ideas.
Those present at the meeting want buses to run more often, later and to an expanded area. Safety was a main concern for bus riders who try to cross the street after disembarking. Anxious drivers pass the buses when they stop, so riders are put at risk of being hit. Many bus stops do not have shelters; riders do not have a place to sit while they wait or any protection from the weather.
On June 21, Hampton Roads Transit launched Connect Hampton Roads, a site designed to solicit input and discussion among community members who want to see improvements in the area’s transportation. Connect Hampton Roads’ public survey is available through September. The organization plans to approach members of the General Assembly with a request for funding based on public need.
“If we don’t hear from people in an area, we don’t know what need is there,” said Kevan Danker, executive director of WATA.
Danker told the group finances are tight, so public transit services need to be efficient while still connecting residents and tourists with the places they need to go: work, school, grocery stores and doctor appointments.
About a handful of citizens from Grove and a few students from the College of William & Mary, along with representatives of the Lackey Free Clinic and Busch Gardens spoke up at Tuesday’s meeting. Mason asked whether anyone present used public transit to attend the meeting. None did.
Edith Heard, who for years has been a vocal member of the Grove community, provided a range of insight about current services. Heard said Grove needs a higher frequency of service: WATA buses run every hour in the early morning and late evening, but provide service every half hour between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Heard also pushed for the time of service to be expanded. HRT and WATA connect in Lee Hall, but WATA buses stop running at 9 p.m. daily, and HRT runs until 11 p.m. Workers who need transportation home after 9 p.m. cannot rely on WATA.
The WATA Board of Directors voted earlier this year to cut extended summer hours, which kept buses running until 10 p.m. during the summer months rather than stopping at 9 p.m. The extra hour had low ridership, Danker said. Despite that fact, Danker said he recognizes buses in the Williamsburg area would need to run until 1 a.m. to ensure citizens can use public transit when leaving work.
Busch Gardens Park President Carl Lum also wants to see bus service extended. He said a number of his employees and park visitors rely on the bus. During the summer months, the park closes at 10 p.m. and puts on a fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. Visitors who ride the bus cannot stay for the show, and park employees responsible for closing each night usually do not leave the park until 11 p.m. or later.
Lum thought providing bus stops close to the county’s larger employers — such as Anheuser-Busch, Walmart Distribution Center and Ball Metal — would be safer for employees. He also suggested putting a bus stop within Busch Gardens. The bus currently stops on Route 60 and riders have to walk about a mile into the park.
Busch Gardens footed the bill to install a bus shelter that cost about $40,000 at the existing stop because he did not like to see his employees and guests standing out in the rain.
County residents said they want to see more bus shelters for senior citizens who stand for extended periods of time while waiting for the bus. Grove has nine bus stops and one is covered, said Allen Doucet, a Grove resident and member of the community team working on James City County’s Comprehensive Plan update.
The College of William & Mary students who attended the meeting said WATA needs to release better route maps so riders know where buses actually stop. Danker said the authority is currently in the process of creating better maps and plans on launching a new bus app later this year. He asked the students to provide him with college groups he could consult for assistance with future service changes and upgrades.
Two representatives from Lackey Free Clinic, which provides medical, dental and behavioral health services, were at the meeting to advocate for a closer bus stop. Their patients who rely on bus service walk 3.2 miles from the existing stop in Lee Hall to the clinic.
James Curtis has lived in Grove for more than 50 years, and he said the area has been forgotten. Children do not have transportation to the James City County Recreation Center, and the Abram Frink Community Center in Grove is closed for the summer. Kids also swim at pools around the area, and are not able to ride a bus to get to them, he said.
In order to spark consideration about any new route, WATA accepts phone calls, emails and communication through social media and comments during Board of Directors meetings with suggestions. The suggestions are funneled into a database WATA uses to tabulate interest in each route, which is then presented to the directors for consideration.
The WATA Board of Directors met Wednesday to review three options for three-year pilot programs to expand bus service using federal grant funding. The grant was awarded in 2009 to provide service to the Jamestown area, including Jamestown Settlement, Jamestown High School and Avalon: a Center for Women and Children.
The board reviewed a number of options stemming from citizen and business requests then decided to move forward with planning the Jamestown route. Another federal grant next year may be used to provide another new route or expand existing bus service.