New free bus loop coming to downtown Elyria

Lorain County commissioners announced a new, free bus route.

The Downtown Elyria Loop will begin running Dec. 17 and will operate from 7:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. It is free of charge.

Lorain County Administrator James Cordes said the loop will run two buses between 7:15 a.m. and 9 a.m., and between 3:15 p.m. and 5 p.m.

“We’re going to tease that loop a bit as we start to run it,” Cordes said. “Right now, we figure we can complete the loop in about 25 to 28 minutes, and it’ll hit some key spots.”

The doubled busing in the morning and the afternoon will cut the loop to about 12

to 15 minutes, he said.

Cordes said the parking situation in downtown Elyria has been a problem, especially considering jurors for the Lorain County Justice Center.

That problem becomes worse in the winter due to lost parking spots as a result of snow plowing, he said.

“This loop will be able to get people from the Washington Avenue lot up to the Justice Center if they’re on jury duty, or anyone else who parks in the Washington lot and needs to come up and visit the facilities here,” Cordes said.

He said he hopes this new loop will help with the wellknown transportation and parking issues in downtown Elyria.

“I don’t want to go another winter without trying to address the problem with the jury parking,” Cordes said. “It’s not going to get better, it’s going to get worse.”

The loop will be free of charge because the county needs to run a bus route in order to use funding from the Federal Transit Administration and the county buses of which a few were recently purchased, he said.

Those new buses will be used on the new loop.

Also, the county is looking into purchasing larger buses if they are needed.

“Right now, we use 24-passenger buses,” Cordes said. “With standing room, we get about 35 people on the bus.

“We can accommodate quite a few people, especially since we have two buses at the peak times.”

Cordes said the new loop will cost the county about $78,000 a year, but it’s unclear if the loop will continue.

“I can’t tell you it’s going to work for sure,” he said. “I don’t want to give up on it, until maybe the springtime (that) we can reevaluate it and see if it’s really helped out.”

Commissioner Ted Kalo said free downtown bus routes have worked well in Cleveland.

“This will provide a significant service,” Kalo said.

Cordes emphasized there could be “hiccups” with the new route and implored residents to remain patient.

Also, the commissioners approved an agreement with the Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority to supply $15,000 for the county’s Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Program through the Community Housing Impact and Preservation Program grant the county received from the Ohio Development Services Agency.

The Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Program is expected to help no less than 15 tenants with their first month’s rent, security deposit, utility deposit or any combination of those things, according to a news release on the program.

It is open to residents in all Lorain County communities except Lorain, Elyria and Vermilion, according to the release.

In other news, in response to Elyria-resident Robin Byrne’s questions at the meeting, Cordes gave a small update on the HVAC contracts at the proposed Recovery One site in Amherst Township.

He said Bay Mechanical received the contract, but is currently on hold and has not been voted on by the commissioners.

“Right now, there are some complications that we’re holding on,” he said. “The roof work cannot start, more than likely, until the spring time.”

Cordes said the Recovery One levy’s failure in November has derailed the project slightly, but he’s hoping it can get back on track.

“At this time, I don’t have a clear line of sight to that completion,” he said.