News & Events
Tuesday January 13, 2009
St. Lucie County connector routes expected to start by end of February
By Laurie K. Blanford
TCPALM.COM
ST LUCIE COUNTY – Residents will be able to use public transportation to travel across the area by the end of February.
County Transit Director Marianne Arbor and her staff held two public meetings on Tuesday to explain two new routes that connect Port St. Lucie from east to west. She had a slideshow of detailed maps and took questions from the public.
Both routes run from the Treasure Coast Connector at U.S. 1 and along Port St. Lucie Boulevard to Tradition and Prima Vista Boulevard to St. Lucie West. The buses will run every hour from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
About a dozen people attended the morning meeting at the Council on Aging senior center in Port St. Lucie. A second was in the afternoon at the council’s meal site center in Fort Pierce.
“We have a lot of demand for seniors right now,” said Robert Rao of Port St. Lucie.
He said buses take too long to arrive and ride, especially for the elderly. Rao had a stroke about a year and a half ago and uses demand-response buses, but he wants to use the fixed routes. He said he hopes the new routes make it easier for disabled people to get around the county.
Harvey Glatd, a 74-year-old resident of Port St. Lucie for 21 years, wants to be able to attend spring training games in St. Lucie West and go to Tradition – a place he’s never been. He worries about getting to the hospital or doctor’s office if something were to happen.
“I’m just looking out for the future,” he said. “Things seem to be going in the right direction.”
Arbore said the Port St. Lucie downtown trolley will be extended across Port St. Lucie Boulevard to connect with the new routes, eliminating two of the trolley’s stops that don’t pick up many people.
She said her staff is working to create a route along Bayshore Boulevard to connect the two new routes and maybe a hybrid bus system in which the demand-response buses that residents request from their homes take them to a bus stop.
WANT TO RIDE?
- $1 for regular rider one way, $2 roundtrip
- 50 cents for seniors, children younger than age 12 and the disabled one way, $1 roundtrip
- $2.50 for regular rider one-day pass
- $1.25 for seniors, children younger than age 12 and the disabled one way, $1 roundtrip
- People who call from their home to request bus pickup soon will be required to fill out an application. The service will no longer be for anyone, but for people who meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
- For more information, call community transit at (772) 464-7433 or visit www.treasurecoastconnector.com