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Second Eau Claire Transit bus may stop at Woodman's | One stop already added to Altoona route

Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Andrew Dowd | Leader-Telegram

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Just a month after extending one route to Woodman's Market in Altoona, a second Eau Claire Transit bus also may be headed to the area's largest grocery store.

The Eau Claire Transit Commission will hold a public hearing next week on changing Route 4 - a bus that serves parts of Eau Claire's north side - to add a stop at Woodman's.

Eau Claire Transit manager Tom Wagener said Altoona sought more frequent buses at the grocery store at its River Prairie development on U.S. 53, and riders have been interested in trips to the store since it opened in September 2015.

"They were interested in seeing additional service out there," he said.

Earlier this month, Route 17, which primarily serves Altoona, began stopping at the grocery store once an hour. Modifying Route 4 would mean that a bus would be there about every 30 minutes, Wagener said.

If the Transit Commission approves the change to Route 4, Wagener said, the stop out to Woodman's could begin as early as July.

Sending the Route 4 bus to the store means some other stops will be visited once, instead of twice, on the route.

Based on the proposal, stops around Mount Simon Park and Cascades Tissue Group would only be on the inbound part of the route as it returns to the downtown Eau Claire transit center. Stops between Eddy Lane and LaSalle Street in neighborhoods by Northstar Middle School would be served only on the outbound trip.

Wagener said Woodman's would be a "trip generator" - a stop that would increase ridership on Route 4.

Altoona city planner Joshua Clements noted there are upsides for both Altoona and bus riders to alter the route.

"It would give people from a different part of the metro area an opportunity to get to Woodman's," he said.

But he noted that the city does understand that it's part of a metro transit system where decisions need to be made to get the most out of bus service, given that state and federal aid has been flat for years.

"The support still exists in the city of Altoona to expand that service," Clements said.

Altoona and Eau Claire Transit worked last year on options that would add the River Prairie development to bus routes.

Altoona did boost its budget allocation for public transit this year in anticipation of more bus service. Last year the city budgeted $53,000 for bus and paratransit services, Clements said, and that grew to $97,000 this year. Though he noted that Altoona likely won't spend the entire amount because details of the service were still being worked out in fall when the city set its 2017 budget.

It's been just over a week since the Route 17 bus began stopping at Woodman's, and Clements said his office has been getting positive feedback, but also a couple of suggestions for improvement. Namely, a different bus stop, instead of the grassy boulevard along Woodman Drive where passengers now are dropped off and picked up.

It's too early to get good ridership figures for the stop at Woodman's because people are still getting used to that service, Wagener said, but bus drivers have reported that it is being used.

Clements expects ridership numbers collected by the end of this year will help gauge how successful the service to Woodman's has been or if it needs tweaking.

Altoona already is prepared for bus service in another part of its River Prairie development after construction of new businesses, restaurants, apartments and public amenities are finished.

"The shelter is there to receive future service," Clements said.

But getting service on the north side of River Prairie Drive may still be more than a year away and require discussions about what adding that would do to other stops on bus routes.

Contact: 715-833-9204, andrew.dowd@ecpc.com, @ADowd_LT on Twitter

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