Saving Mission Hills Bus Line 83
by Sharon Gehl and Pat Paylor
Patricia Paylor, right, is pictured with Jaki Brown who also rides the 83 bus in the mornings. Both rely on public transportation to get to work.
Would you like to take a bus from Mission Hills down Sunset to Juan Street and the Old Town Transit Center? That’s one of the changes being proposed for the 83-bus route that serves Mission Hills.
The Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) originally proposed eliminating the 83-bus route, the only bus that serves the residential areas of north and south Mission Hills, as part of a system-wide route realignment. The 83 bus runs through Mission Hills, and then down Reynard Way to the America Plaza Trolley station downtown. It returns up Reynard Way and makes a loop on Washington Street to Hillcrest.
Without it, residents in north and south Mission Hills would have to walk to Washington Street or down to the Middletown Trolley Station. The riders who would be hurt the most by eliminating the 83 bus would be those who depend on it the most: the disabled, elderly, housekeepers and homecare workers. Without reliable medical homecare, many residents would not be able to live in their homes.
An alternate proposal was made at the Thursday, July 20 MTS board of director’s meeting, when the Transit Optimization Plan (TOP) was discussed and public comment was heard. Staff proposed retaining the 83-bus service in the middle of the day for 5-6 hours, and streamlining the route by discontinuing the Hillcrest loop. This is the least desirable option for almost all riders. They need those early morning and late day times to get to and from work.
Later that day a third MTS option was discussed at the Uptown Planners Facilities Subcommittee meeting: keeping the 83 bus schedule as is while still eliminating the Hillcrest loop, and using the money saved to extend the north end of the route to the Old Town Transit Center by way of Sunset and Juan Street. The hope is that more people would use the bus if it connected to transit at both ends. Would you be more apt to use the bus if it connected to the trolley at Old Town?
The MTS is asking for comments on their proposed route changes before their final Thursday, September 21 vote on the TOP. You can send your comments and suggestions to the MTS board of directors by way of the clerk of the board, Julia Tuer at julia.tuer@sdmts.com or call her at (619) 557-4515 and leave a message for the board.
You can also send comments to the Uptown Planners ahead of their 6 p.m., Thursday, August 1 board meeting to discuss proposed TOP changes to routes in Uptown and make their recommendations to the MTS, and/or attend the August 1 meeting and speak in person. Their webpage is http://www.uptownplanners.org.
You can attend the Thursday, September 21 MTS board meeting and speak before the board makes their final decision. Their webpage is: https://www.sdmts.com/about-mts-meetings-and-agendas/board-meetings
Pat Paylor rides the 83 bus regularly. If you have any questions, you can contact her at ppaylor@klinedinstlaw.com or (619) 838-1126 and leave a message.
Category: Business, Local News
