John Pick, City Administrator
City of Salisbury
125 N Division Street
Salisbury, MD 21801-4940
Re: Proposed Greyhound/Shore Transit Terminal on Calvert St
Dear Mr. Pick,
On behalf of our members, we are writing to express strenuous opposition to the proposed terminal for Greyhound and Shore Transit buses.
According to the attached Daily Times articles, Council will be asked to approve “a new permanent location” for a Greyhound bus terminal that would share Shore Transit’s hub location on Calvert Street. This venture would not be in the best interests of Downtown Salisbury, today or in the future.
East Main Street businesses, especially the offices and shops staffed by women, believe they know some bus passengers too well. They see them disembark. They encounter them trying to enter the stores and offices.
Currently, these bus passengers enter East Main Street businesses as customers leave. The passengers usually ask to use the washroom. In one instance, when the request was denied, the male passenger relieved himself on the store window. Business owners are convinced requests and incidents like this will be more common if more passengers are offloaded on Calvert Street.
Most of the East Main Street merchants are threatened by the male bus passengers who enter their stores, especially when two or more come in together. They worry about shoplifting and other more serious crimes. Those fears have caused most of stores to control access. Many have installed video cameras to heighten security.
Our members are also concerned about the impact on vehicular traffic, pedestrian safety and the environment.
Greyhound would add 12 buses a day. Any increase in the number of buses pulling into and out of Calvert Street will increase congestion and the risk for motorists on and around one of the busiest intersections in the urban core.
More buses will also mean more passengers and thus, more pedestrians. The possibility of accidents will increase as pedestrians compete with more buses and motorists in this compact, heavily traveled node.
Increasing the number of buses will also have a negative effect on the environment. Greyhound promotes their new buses as being eco-friendly. Despite this claim, more buses will increase the community’s carbon footprint which is the opposite of the City’s plan for the future. Furthermore, it has been proven that the appeal of every urban area increases in direct relation to the walkability of the environment. Currently, Downtown Salisbury has a walkability rating of 67. All of us should be
working together to improve our rating to 100. In other words, the greener the area, the more people will want to live, work, shop and relax Downtown.
As importantly, City Council endorsed the Main Street Master Plan created by Urban Salisbury to make Downtown more attractive and more inviting to residents, visitors and investors. Adding or expanding a bus terminal will not help to achieve those goals.
We strongly urge the Mayor and Council to reject this proposal. If a new temporary or permanent terminal is needed for Greyhound and/or Shore Transit, the Mayor and Council should work with them to find a larger site in a less congested location so their buses and passengers can be accommodated comfortably.
Thank you for allowing us to explain our position. We will be happy to meet with the Mayor, Council and you to find a mutually satisfactory solution to this problem.
Yours truly,
Bruce W. Patterson, President
Urban Salisbury, Inc.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
21 comments:
Use the old E.B.S. building, the bank isnt doing anything with it.
I was with you all the way to the point you went enviornmental wacko. Carbon footprint green this green that is a bunch of crap that is being debunked more each day.
It isn't only those businesses on East Main Street, businesses further north on Rt. 13 have reported released ECI inmates, and others, walking into their establishments seek money and assistance. Will a greyhound station at this location increase the number of ECI prisoners being released in the City?
Residents should be concerned also, along with SU and PRMC. If businesses have to secure their entrances to protect their staff from individuals who might choose to rob or harm them, then those committing these crimes will be more likely to increase robberies at homes and against pedestrians. No additional crime should be brought into this area. Perhaps a better idea would be to move the current Shore Transit from this area and centralize it with Greyhound in a new area, perhaps a more commercial area such as the industrial park. Then Salisbury could be serviced with one of those new City loop bus services being utilized in many large Cities for the purposes of moving workers in and out quickly and frequently.
This area also experiences a fairly high number of traffic accidents involving pedestrians, this too needs to be considered before more foot traffic is encouraged.
We should support Mr. Patterson and let our council members know we are displeased with such an agreement and a need for them to bring about real change that would benefit rebuilding our downtown area as opposed to allowing continuing deterioration.
They need to go back to the area the old macds site on the west side.
Joe,
The statement made in this letter contradicts all of the principals made by advocates of so called 'transit oriented development'.
I happen to believe moving the intercity bus terminal from Cypress Street to Calvert Street is a good idea. The terminal building, ticket office and support facilities would fit perfectly on the property formerly occupied by The Boulevard Theatre. Shore Transit could share the facility with Greyhound and Trailways.
The Washington DC metropolitan area has three facilities where intercity bus carriers share facilities with the local transit agency.
Keep those filthy bus passengers away from downtown!
I'm sure there going to put in bathrooms.
Put the bus terminal at the airport.
I like the idea of the old McDonald's site; plenty of room, and plenty of interior waiting/ facilities space, and within walking distance to Downtown or the slums.
If they put the GH bus station downtown, there wouldn't be room for the new library...
The old Macdonald's
It is totally unacceptable to have it there on Calvert Street. Have you tried crossing that intersection when the buses are leaving now?! Holy crap...they TRY to run over you! You not only have to worry about certain bus passengers, you take your life in your own hands just crossing the street! To those who are for this...would you want your mother, wife or daughter being harrassed by these people? Not to mention the homeless and mentally unstable people that tend to hang around there now. I have seen them urinate on vehicles that are parked in the parking lot. Move the whole dang thing to somewhere else!
When did Greyhound appear on the local scene? Isnt Trailways on Cypress Street enough?I think Calvert Street is just too congested for all that traffic.
I remember when Shore Transit riders were p*ssing and crapping out behind the old movie theater not too long ago so urinating on a window does not suprise me.Someone like that needs to have the h*ll beat out of them for being so nasty.
Furthermore,alot of people seem to think Shore Transit is heavily used for drug trafficking in our towns.Think about all those duffel bags the passengers carry around all day from town to town.Hmmm....
Shore Transit and Greyhound should not be on Calvert Street. Move them out of the downtown area. They don't fit in with existing businesses. The bus companies should be required to provide a building with an office, waiting rooms, and on site restrooms. Sitting on a curb waiting for a bus, and having to use a parking lot for a restroom is humilitating and just wrong.
I've seen them pi$$ on police cars parked in the lot too!
Who wants all the grease and oil leaks from those buses anyway in an area we are trying to improve. Its tough enough with the trash from the transit riders and others.
Because of the way our transportation system runs, the Shore Transit office and bus stop have to be downtown. Since our buses only do "loops", there needs to be a central place for every bus to go. It makes sense for that place to be right in the middle of everything.
With that (defense) being said, I think Shore Transit should have to provide restrooms for their riders. Those bus routes are long and many of the riders are either older or disabled - they need access to facilities so they can keep their dignity.
Greyhound needs to stay at the Trailways site, or somewhere close to it. There is just too much going on at Calvert Street intersection for huge buses to be blocking everything up - heck, there are problems with the smaller local buses, how much worse would it be with full sized ones?
Put Greyhound and Trailways in that old transmission shop on Cypress St, out in front of Roses. Big building and plenty of room for the buses to navigate.
I don't think this guy understands what "walkability" means. Access to transportation actually improves walkability, mister.
Shore Transit needs to be moved to Cypress Street too! Maybe have a drop off at Calvert St., but that's it!
I think some of you have perceptions about "those people" that ride buses that is becoming outdated. If there are problems with crime or other actions from certain riders, then those individuals need to be dealt with. Don't brand an entire mode of transportation.
Bus ridership is booming.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/27/AR2009082703374.html
The route choices to/from Salisbury might be more limited than major cities, but if a bus terminal was well thought out, it could be an asset to the city, and an alternative means of getting to the Delmarva peninsula. Bus transportation is not just for poor people anymore.
I live in the Washington DC area and have family in Sussex county. For years now, I keep crossing my fingers that there will be a direct run from DC to the shore. Unless something has changed recently, all buses go from DC then Baltimore, then Delmarva. The routing through Baltimore adds excessive time to the trip.
Many of the new generation of buses and companies have VERY nice buses with internet access and amenities. Believe me, if there is ever a route to the shore where I can sit back, catch up on work, or just take a nap, I'll be on that bus and signing up for it's frequent rider program. The drive has always been boring and is just a waste of time. It increasingly takes longer, the bridge is a pain, and its gotten so that I don't even visit family during the summer anymore unless I'm driving late night/early AM hours.
A well placed bus station in Salisbury could be an asset. There's no Delmarva train service, flying isn't cheap (i've considered that too), and won't get any cheaper. Driving won't be getting cheaper or faster either.
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