April 2, 2013
The wheels on the bus: K-State Salina Enactus team, Lowes fund new Salina CityGo bus stop
The wheels on the bus will head south on the purple line this fall. Kansas State University Salina's Enactus team has partnered with Salina's OCCK's CityGo Service to provide an ADA accessible bus stop at the intersection of Magnolia and Centennial through a Lowe's Community Improvement Project Partnership Grant.
"Salina CityGo serves more than 65 percent of the city with safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation service," said Mar'Quis Hubert, junior in personal financial planning, Washington, D.C., and the project lead. "During 2012, the bus system provided over 210,000 rides."
Salina CityGo is operated and managed by OCCK, a not-for-profit organization that works within the community to provide education, resources and employment services to persons with disabilities. The bus system's operations provides transportation services to the community and provides OCCK clients — Salina community members with disabilities — with jobs handling such tasks as washing and fueling the buses.
According to Debbie Atkinson, transportation coordinator for Salina CityGo, the stop will serve patrons wanting to go south on the purple route, providing faster access to stores and restaurants in south Salina. The stop for the northbound purple route will remain just east of College Center on the K-State Salina campus.
"This stop will make the bus system in the southwest part of town more efficient," Atkinson said. "It will give our riders the opportunity to go south to switch bus lines at the Wal-Mart transfer station stop, which is a 5-minute ride, rather than having to go north to switch lines downtown, which can take half an hour."
"These services are important with the economic impact that rising gasoline prices have had on motorists, as well as for the positive role they play in shaping the economy and helping the environment," Hubert said.
Hubert said that a purple-canopied bench will be placed at the concrete slab, which will make it easier for wheelchair-bound patrons to get on and off the bus. The project will be completed before the fall semester begins in August.
"When it's ready, we'll have a ribbon cutting ceremony and during the first month riders picked up at the stop will be entered into a drawing for a CityGo 20-day pass," he said.