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BRTA Details Regional Transit Plan
By Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff
05:38PM / Wednesday, August 26, 2015
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Administrator Robert Malnati outlined the regional plan at Wednesday's public hearing in Pittsfield.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority knows what it wants to do.

It just don't know if there will be the money to do it.

BRTA Administrator Robert Malnati presented the draft regional transit plan on Wednesday that calls for six additional vehicles and about $3 million.
 
The plan outlines specific plans for routes and will be combined with the plans of 15 other regional transit authorities for submission to the Legislature. 
 
"All told, we'd need six additional vehicles and $3 million," Malnati said at a hearing Wednesday afternoon.
 
"These are the things we need to do to prove to the Legislature that if BRTA got more funding, this is what we would do with it."
 
A consortium of the state's RTAs worked with consulting group URS to develop the plans. The regional plan is required as part of the 2013 transportation finance bill.
 
The BRTA is hoping to increase frequency of service, improve access for those dependent on the service, better align services with needs, support economic development, and leverage more funding from state and federal resources.
 
Malnati then outlined a series of changes to happen to each route over four phases.
 
• Route 1: This route runs from Pittsfield to North Adams along Route 8 and back. In the first phase, the weekday hours would be extended until 9 p.m. and the route would be changed to stay more on Route 8 than it does currently. In the second phase, Sunday service would be rolled out from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. The third phase would increase frequency of buses to every 30 minutes, down from every 60 minutes now. Those changes would come at a cost of $110,000.
 
Route 2: This route runs from Pittsfield to the Prime Outlets in Lee. The first phase would extend weekday service until 9 p.m. and the second phase would add Sunday service. Those changes would cost some $214,000. 
 
•  Route 3: This route services Williamstown and Walmart in North Adams. Phase 1 would extend weekday hours and change the route somewhat. The second phase adds Sunday service. The third phase increases frequency to every 30 minutes. The cost would be $442,000.
 
Route 4: This route is through Dalton. Phase 2 would extend hours and increase Saturday bus frequency to 60 minutes, down from 90 minutes. Phase 3 would add Sunday service. Phase 3 also drops weekday frequency to 45 minutes and adjusts the route to be fully bidirectional. That would cost $258,000.
 
Route 5: This route runs in downtown Pittsfield. The only recommendation would be to extend weekday service hours until 8:45 p.m. That would cost $45,000.
 
Route 7: This is a seasonal bus partly funded by Williams College. The bus runs from Williamstown south on Route 7 to Pittsfield. The first phase would reduce operations to peak hours only and change the route from going down Route 7 in Pittsfield to Wahconah Street. In Phase 4, the plan would be to roll out all-day service. The all-day service and route change would cost $400,000.
 
• Route 11: This route services Berkshire Community College and is the most productive route for the BRTA. In Phase 1, the plan would be to extend hours until 8:30 p.m. and run buses every 45 minutes. In Phase 3, the frequency would drop to 30 minutes. This would require an additional bus and $172,000.
 
• Route 12: This route is a loop in Pittsfield from downtown, to Elm Street, Dalton Division Road, Merrill Road and East Street. Phase 1 would extend Saturday and weekday hours; Phase 2 adds Sunday service; Phase 3 ends the loop operation that services Downing Industrial Park and will have the bus run back along Dalton Division and Elm after turning around at Berkshire Crossing. The cost for those changes would be $100,000.
 
• Route 13: This route would be combined with Route 14. The two routes would service Plastics Avenue, Downing Industrial Park, and East Street. It will run only on peak hours and the route would be adjusted accordingly. The changes to those buses would save the BRTA $120,000. 
 
• Route 15: This route runs from downtown Pittsfield toward Hancock Shaker Village. The plan would be to extend weekday hours and increase frequency to 45 minutes. That would cost $92,000.
 
Route 16: This route would consolidate the existing Route 13 and would serve Peck's Road, upper North Street, Crane Avenue and Berkshire Crossing. The consolidation in Phase 3 mixed with extended hours would cost $135,000.
 
• Route 21: This route is in South County and serves a number of sites including the Lee Outlets, Stockbridge Center, Berkshire Botanical Gardens, Housatonic, Barrington Plaza, and Bard College at Simon's Rock. The plan would be to first extend weekday hours and then, in Phase 2, add Sunday service. This would cost $58,000.
 
• Route 31: This route would be combined with a new Route 33. It would serve the North Adams medical campus and Walmart via Eagle, River, Marshall, Main, Mohawk Trail, Mohawk Forest, Kemp, Bradley and Church streets. The routes would be combined in Phase 1 along with expanded weekday hours of service.
 
The BRTA had put those changes to public meetings and some deviations were proposed. At Wednesday's public hearing, no one in attendance had any suggestions to change the plan. It is up to federal and state lawmakers to allocate the funds to implement the changes.
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