WRTA, YSU seek stronger partnership to better link downtown, university

By DENISE DICK

denise_dick@vindy.com

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The city, Western Reserve Transit Authority and Youngstown State University want to develop a plan to best serve the transportation needs of employees, students and the public.

Mayor Jay Williams said discussions have been going on among the entities about ways to improve transportation.

One of the issues discussed is the need for a parking deck, possibly at the corner of Wick Avenue and Commerce Street, that would serve both the university and the city’s central business district, he said.

“Across the country, there’s a need for parking in downtown central business districts,” Williams said.

That’s encouraging, he said, because it means that people are coming downtown for entertainment and services.

Hunter Morrison, who directs campus planning and community partnerships for YSU, said talks also have encompassed seeking grant funding to explore creating a center serving various types of transportation, similar to what’s being created in Kent.

The Kent Central Gateway is a planned transit center that will increase transit accessibility and emphasize multiple forms of transportation, according to kentcentralgateway.com.

The project received a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Representatives of all of the entities stressed that discussions are preliminary.

“It’s probably still a couple of years away,” said James Ferraro, WRTA executive director.

Ferraro said the local entities want to make it easier for university students to get downtown using the transit system.

“We want to get them accustomed to using public transportation,” he said. “They could come downtown without having to go to federal station.”

Morrison said YSU’s provost established an alternative transportation committee, of which Morrison is a member, when gas prices spiked about 1 1/2 years ago.

The committee has been exploring different aspects of transportation from the university’s shuttle service, to parking, to accommodations for bicyclists.

During the last few months, WRTA has gotten involved as its financial footing has gotten firmer and its services expanded.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.