Public Hearing Workshops for 6/17 Start of Kent & NCC Fixed Route Bus Services
Wilmington — Delaware Transit Corporation will conduct four Public Hearing Workshops to obtain comments on proposed changes to DART First State Fixed Route Bus Service for Kent and New Castle Counties to become effective Sunday, June 17, 2012.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012;11:30 AM to 1:30 PM & 5 PM to 7 PM
Carvel State Office Building, 2nd Floor Auditorium
820 N. French Street, Wilmington
Wednesday, April 11, 2012; 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM
DelDOT Admin. Bldg., Farmington/Felton Room
800 Bay Road (US 113), Dover
Thursday, April 12, 2012; 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM
WILMAPCO, 850 Library Ave., Suite 100, Newark
The proposal calls for (by County)
New Castle County
Downtown Rodney Square; To ensure passenger safety, increase service efficiencies, decrease overall traffic congestion and ease traffic flow, bus routes will be rerouted in the downtown Wilmington area to no longer serve Rodney Square on 10th St., 11th St., or King St.
Bus Routes that operate from Amtrak Station, 2, 6, 10, 11, 12, 16, 20, 21, 28, 35, 38, 45, and 301, including Route 7, would no longer serve the stop on 10th St. at Rodney Square. These bus routes would continue to stop on French St. at 9th St., adjacent to the Carvel State Office Building; and would then proceed north on French St. to left on 12th St. to serve a new stop on 12th St. between King and Market Sts. These routes would no longer stop on 11th St. at Rodney Square, but would instead stop on King St. between 10th and 9th Sts., adjacent to the Wilmington Library.
The Orange Street Bus Routes 15, 17, 19, 24, 30, 33, 34, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 54, and 55 would turn right from Orange St. on to 9th St. and proceed to King St., making a right turn and serving the bus stop on King St. at 8th St.
Bus Routes 4, 5, 22, 23 and 25 would turn right from Orange St. to 10th St., and proceed to Shipley St. DART would implement a bus stop on Shipley St. between 10th and 9th Sts. to accommodate these buses. DART Routes 1, 3 and 9 would stop on King St. between 12th and 11th Sts. (at the former U.S. Post Office).
Time adjustments would be made accordingly on routes listed above.
Other proposed changes include:
Route 1; the first trip would be extended to begin at Tri-State Mall at 4:54 AM to alleviate overcrowding.
Route 4; the four trips that currently serve Agilent Technologies (6:45 AM, 7:53 AM, 3:25 PM, 4:43 PM) would no longer go onsite, but would continue to serve the stop on Centerville Rd. at the entrance. These trips would then be extended to Prices Corner. In the reverse direction, new stops would be served along Centerville Rd.
Route 12; route would be extended to the Riverfront, providing weekday service from 6 AM to 11 PM. The bus would not serve Wilmington Amtrak Station on its way to the Riverfront (passengers could access the station from the bus stop on 2nd Street between King and Market Streets), but would serve it coming back from the Riverfront. Mid-day frequency to the Riverfront would be every 30 minutes; Saturday service would be expanded to the Riverfront hourly until 8 PM.
Route 17; the following four low performing trips from Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution would be discontinued: 9:24 AM, 1:25 PM, 2:27 PM and 4:30 PM.
Route 20; Service would be added to Chestnut Run at 6:50 AM, 7:16 AM, 4:10 PM; and discontinued at 3:38 PM.
Route 24; route path would now proceed on W. 4th Street, across Greenhill Ave., right on Gray Ave., right on W. 5th Street to Greenhill Ave. and back to 4th Street, no longer serving 7th St., Woodlawn Ave. or Pennsylvania Ave.
Route 25; Service to Delaware City would be discontinued on the following low performing weekday trips: 9:10 AM, 9:40 AM, 10:05 AM, 7:28 PM, 8:29 PM; From Delaware City at 9:46 AM, 7:29 PM, 8:38 PM, and 10:33 PM.
Route 31 Newark Trolley; bus route would be discontinued due to historically low ridership.
Route 32 Wilmington Trolley; the Riverfront would now be served by Route 12. The Trolley would continue to serve Market St. from 13th Street to 2nd St. and would now serve Amtrak Station with increased frequencies, every 10 minutes on weekdays; every 20 minutes on Saturdays.
Kent County
Route 104; minor time changes
Route 106; route would no longer serve Base Housing, but would continue serving the stop at the entrance of Dover Air Force Base Visitors Center.
Route 107; the alignment through Clearview Meadows would be discontinued, eliminating the bus stop at Luther Village.
Intercounty Service
Route 301; minor changes due to rerouting in downtown Wilmington area (refer to 2nd bullet under NCC).
The proposal is available for public review at most libraries, state service centers and at the reception desks of DART First State offices and the DelDOT Administration Building in Dover, and online at www.DartFirstState.com.
At the hearing, a hearing reporter will officially transcribe comments intended for the record by the public. People unable to attend may send their comments toDART First State Public Hearing, P.O. Box 1670, Wilmington, DE 19899-1670
Comments can also be e-mailed through the DART website at www.DartFirstState.com/publichearing. All written and emailed comments must be received by April 13, 2012.
Persons having hearing disabilities who need interpreters should contact the Delaware Transit Corporation in writing by April 3, 2012 at the address previously provided for public hearing comments.
The Delaware Transit Corporation has the legal authority in Delaware for initiating public transit service changes as defined in Title 2 Chapter 13 section 1309 of the Delaware Code.
