Parking Department adding Polsky Express among other new route proposals

By Spencer DeVeau, News Writer

This fall, riders of the Roo Express might look out their seat windows and notice they are not taking in the usual sights they have grown accustomed to.

UA’s Parking and Transportation Services have proposed route changes for the Roo Express’s Circulator, South, and West Routes. It also proposed a new route called the Polsky Express.

The major differences between this year’s and next year’s routes will be the addition of the Polsky Express and stop location changes.

“The Polsky Express route will allow our riders to go from the Polsky building to the main campus quickly, and will help alleviate capacity issues on the West route,” wrote Samantha Rohrbough, manager of Parking and Transportation, in an emailed statement. “We’ve also moved the Metro RTA stop from the South route to the West route.”

Another change brings the Roo Express to a bus stop off Exchange Street by the South Campus Parking Deck as an alternative for the Union stop.

The downtown, weekend, Dave’s Supermarket and Chapel Hill routes will remain unchanged; however, the downtown route might start later, according to Rohrbough.

“Ridership is extremely low from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., and the routes throughout the day cover much of the same areas as the downtown route,” Rohrbough wrote.

Route changes are based on student and rider feedback.

“We are consistently evaluating the needs of our campus community and do our best to make accommodations for as many Roo Express riders as possible,” Rohrbough wrote.

This year, Parking and Transportation Services is asking for student feedback early enough to make changes to the fall schedule without disrupting the routines of students and employees.

To give feedback and to see a map of the proposed route changes, visit http://www.uakron.edu/parking/roo-express.

The deadline for feedback is Sunday, April 26. If any other changes occur, students and faculty will be notified through Zipmail or The Digest as early as possible.