April 20, 2010. Dayton Daily News.
Representatives from the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority and the owner of two local malls pledged to make safe bus stops closer to the Dayton Mall and the Mall at Fairfield Commons a reality at a gathering of the Leaders for Equality & Action in Dayton on Monday night, April 19.
LEAD held its annual Nehemiah Action Assembly at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Dayton and asked Steve Gerber of Glimcher Realty and RTA Executive Director Mark Donaghy if they would work together and pledge the capital necessary to build and maintain bus stops that are a safe distance from a mall entrance. They both agreed.
“There are no bus stops near the entrance ways of two of the most used entrances by entry-level employees,” said Mark Ewald of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in his address to the crowd of more than 650. “It’s a safety issue for those who must rely on public transportation every day.”
Currently three routes service a Dayton Mall stop about 300 yards from an entrance.
The closest stop to the Mall at Fairfield Commons is on Colonel Glenn Highway near Wright State University.
“Riders must get off and walk two miles,” Ewald said. “There are no sidewalks, so riders must walk over the I-675 overpass.”
“The city of Beavercreek has a very specific ordinance, my personal opinion is it’s an anti-transit ordinance, so we may need some more support on that,” Donaghy told the crowd. “We’ve started the process of looking into a stop with access to Pentagon Boulevard which would provide access to the Dayton Regional STEM School and the mall.”
Donaghy said representatives from RTA and Glimcher will meet today, April 20, to discuss the next steps in getting the Dayton Mall bus stop moved closer to an entrance. Donaghy also announced a proposal to offer family and individual day passes to RTA customers.
“With rate increases, if a family has multiple children we’re almost pricing them out of the opportunity to ride the bus,” he said.
With a day pass a family would pay one fare and be able to ride any bus all day.
