Transit meeting Sept. 1 to seek public input on route changes

Pulaski Area Transit will host a public meeting on Sept. 1 to get feedback from citizens on proposed changes to the transit bus routes.

In September 2018, PAT moved from a Demand Response operation to a Fixed Route operation, with two fixed routes in the Town of Pulaski that intersect at two designated areas.

The transit also operates an ADA para-transit operation that operates on an as-needed basis for people who are not able to access the fixed route bus stops.

Since the change in 2018, PAT has experienced a reduction in ridership. As a result, the transit is exploring alignment and transit service changes.

The meeting Sept. 1 is to gain public input on the proposed addition of what Transit Manager Monica Musick and her assistant Candace Draper called “feeder routes.”

They explained to Pulaski Town Council on Tuesday that these proposed feeder routes would send transit buses to areas in and around the town which are no longer served with the fixed routes.

The two proposed feeder routes would have nine additional bus stops including Pine Hill Trailer Park, the apartments on Bob White Boulevard, Memorial Baptist Church on Peppers Ferry Road, 2nd Morehead Lane, Gator Mart in the Robinson Tract Road area, the top of Virginia Heights Drive, the trailer park on Altoona Road, Case Knife Road and the Garner Avenue and Highland Avenue area.

Their proposal would also increase the coverage of the para-transit route to include nine additional feeder stops.

“We tried to hit every corner of the town that we had been missing,” Draper told council.

Musick and Draper are hoping that during the Sept. 1 public meeting citizens will let them know if they have overlooked an area in the town that needs a transit stop.

Those attending the meeting will be able to view large maps of the current and proposed transit routes and stops and give feedback and get an idea of how the proposed routes will operate.

The meeting will be held from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Pulaski County IT Building at 80 Commerce Street in Pulaski in the Maple Shade Building.

By MIKE WILLIAMS, The Patriot

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