Proposed RTA cuts to impact Westshore
Rocky River Civic Center to host public comment meeting
By Kevin Kelley
Wesshtore
Published July 23, 2008

Rocky River’s Don Umerley Civic Center will host the first of five scheduled public hearings at which residents can comment on proposed service reductions and a fuel surcharge.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 4 at the Civic Center, located at 21016 Hilliard Boulevard. That meeting is the only one scheduled to take place in the Westshore.

On July 15, RTA’s board of trustees voted unanimously to approve a resolution considering service cuts and fare hikes to reduce a projected $20 million budget deficit for 2009.

If, after the series of public meetings, the cuts and fare increases are approved by the RTA board, they will go into effect in October.

Under the proposed fare changes, a ride on a bus or rapid car would jump from $1.75 to $2.25 – 2.50, according to an RTA news release. For seniors and the disabled, the cost of a ride, which is now 75 cents, would jump to $1.10 – 1.25. Riding a bus from one of the Park-N-Ride routes popular with many commuters would increase from two dollars to $2.75 – $3.00.

An all-day pass, which now costs four dollars, would rise to between five or six dollars. The all-day pass for seniors, the disabled and children, would increase from $1.75 to between $2.50 and three dollars.

A monthly pass to ride a bus or rapid train, which now costs $63, would rise to between $85.50 and $95. For seniors, the cost would go from $29 to as much as $47.50. A monthly pass to commute downtown from a Park-N-Ride lot would jump from $70 to as much as $114.

Several bus routes serving the Westshore would be discontinued all together under RTA’s proposals. These are:

#43 Lake – Wolf
#46 Rocky River - Westlake
#49 Center Ridge
#87F Westwood / I-90
#96F Butternut - Hilliard

RTA is also considering the elimination of all community circulator routes, including the 804 Lakewood Community Circulator, the 808 West Shore Community Circulator, and the 822 Southwest Community Circulator.

In addition, several Westshore lines will see cuts in service. The #52 Westgate-West Park route will operate all #52 Westgate trips via Lorain and West 210th Street. Late night service to Fairview Hospital, the Brookpark Rapid station and Hopkins Airport will be discontinued.

The #55F West Shore Flyer line will discontinue service west of Bradley Road, thus ending service to and from Avon Lake.

The #70 Bunts – West 150th Street line, which serves parts of Lakewood, will end weekend service.

The #75X North Olmsted line will become a Red Line feeder route operating between North Olmsted and the West Park Rapid Station only. Service along Triskett Road, Berea Road, and West 117th Street in Cleveland will end. In North Olmsted, the runs along Porter, Wisteria, Oring, Lansing, Devon, Tudor and Berkshire will be discontinued.

RTA says the fare hikes and service cuts are needed because of reductions in state funding and the sharp increases in the cost of diesel fuel.

Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough, who has been on the RTA board since 1999, said the transit agency’s fuel costs were just under $5 million a few years ago; in 2009, the are projected to be about $24 million, Clough said.

Clough, who said he is a supporter of public transportation, noted that it’s ironic and unfortunate that the fare increases and service cuts come at a time when more people are using public transit because of the rising price of gasoline.

Beside the meeting at the Rocky River Civic Center, additional public comment meetings will be held at the following times and locations:

• Aug. 5: Noon, Cleveland Public Library Auditorium, 325 Superior Ave. NE
• Aug. 5: 6 p.m., Cleveland City Hall Room 220, 601 E Lakeside Ave
• Aug. 6: 6 p.m., Cleveland Heights Community Center, One Monticello Blvd. at Mayfield Road
• Aug. 7: 6 p.m., Brooklyn Senior Community Center, 7727 Memphis Ave.

Those who are unable to attend a public meeting can send comments by Aug. 18 to RTA at the following address:

RTA Marketing and Communications Department
1240 West Sixth Street
Cleveland, OH 44113
e-mail: public-comment@gcrta.org

On the Web:

• Regional Transit Authority
• RTA's press release on proposed cuts