Suburban areas would see increased frequency, public comment open
The Capital District Transportation Authority is moving ahead with plans to reform its Albany County operations following revamps of its routes in the Schenectady and Saratoga areas.
The plans for the new routes were released last week. The changes are to come in two phases, with this first round focusing mostly on the City of Albany and its immediate suburbs. A second phase of changes is planned for next year that would affect more outlying areas of the county, but with the changes in the city this first round would be the largest in terms of impact, with 80 percent of the authority’s ridership in the scope of the restructuring.
The first phase would impact several lines running through Bethlehem and Guilderland, though. Route 7, with service to shops in Glenmont, would be passing by every 25 minutes, the number of trips would be increased on Sundays and late night and early service would be added.
Further north, on Route 12, which runs to Crossgates through University at Albany stops, service frequency would be increased to every 15 minutes during peak hours.
Route 18, which travels down Delaware Avenue, would have new Sunday service, and mid-day frequency would be increased to 30 minutes. Buses would run until 11 p.m. six days a week.
Notably, under the plans the course of Route 18 would move off of Kenwood Avenue and extend up Route 85 to the Slingerlands Price Chopper, where it would meet the Route 13 line.
In drafting the changes, the CDTA not only met with stakeholders like government officials and neighborhood groups but analyzed its own usage statistics, said spokeswoman Margo Janack.
What has happened over the years is some of the density patterns have changed somewhat, she said. `The existing route might not meet the needs of that community that it can or should.`
That’s why the CDTA wants to step up the frequency of buses on the `trunk lines` that run through Glenmont and Delmar. The authority’s efforts elsewhere have shown that when the buses are more convenient to use and come more often, people will make greater use of them, said Janack.
In Bethlehem, the change in the path of the Route 18 bus off of Kenwood Avenue is in response to the public’s use of that line, she continued.
`We have to examine where the stronger ridership is,` Janack said. `The trip along Kenwood Avenue really has low ridership, and not as many people are picking it up there. It does add a long time to the trip.`
The CDTA is collecting public comment on the restructuring plan. There have already been two public `open houses,` and there are two more scheduled. There will be one Wednesday, July 13, at the main branch of the Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Ave., from 4 to 8 p.m., and another Thursday, July 14, at the Pine Hills branch of the Albany Public Library, 517 Western Avenue, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Written comments may also be submitted through July 21 and may be directed to [email protected]. The authority plans to make the changes in the fall.
For more information, visit cdta.org.“
