Bus 10 is the most heavily traveled CARTA route in the Charleston area. The only recent change in services that can be seen as positive is the increase in bus 10's runs, coming through every twenty minutes between 7am and 7pm on weekdays. And yet it is still often filled to capacity!
Mainly traversing Rivers Avenue, route 10 starts downtown at Meeting and Mary Street, comes up Meeting Street Extension to Rivers Avenue, stopping at Trident One-Stop before going to the Super Kmart then up Highway 78. It loops around through the front of Charleston Southern University and behind Trident Medical Center to Health South before heading downtown again.
Stops of note on the Highway 78 end of the route include Wannamaker Park, CSU, Trident Hospital and Health South. If you haven't been out that way recently it's built up quite a bit. You'll find a CVS, Wendy's, Zaxby's and Sonic along with East Bay Deli, Brusters and several other restaurants, all within walking distance of the bus.
At Kmart you can transfer to bus 12 if you're going to Dorchester Rd. If you live in the Greenridge Road area there is no stop for bus 10 headed downtown. You have the option of walking to the Kmart (1.5 miles) or to Northwoods Mall (1 mile). Or you can cross Rivers Avenue (8 lanes of traffic) to catch the bus headed to Trident Hospital and ride back around to get downtown. Depending on the driver you may have to pay a double fare to do so. Coming from Trident Hospital you can transfer to bus 12 at Kmart and get off at Dial America to avoid walking from Kmart or the mall to get back to Greenridge Road.
After Kmart major stops are Northwoods Mall, Ashley Phosphate Rd (Walmart), Trident Technical College, Trident One Stop, and Mall Drive where you can connect to bus 104 going to Tanger Outlets or Park Circle. Then of course there's the Super Stop at Cosgrove Avenue where you can transfer to a number of different buses. Once you get to Meeting and Mary that's considered a Super Stop as well, and there are multiple buses that you can connect to. From Meeting and Mary it's an easy walk to many restaurants, shops and tourist areas, and local events such as the Farmer's Market on Marion Square. If you're not sure about the stop, ask your driver when you get on. Quite a few stops are not marked.
As a side note, the Super Stop at Cosgrove and Rivers does have rest rooms and vending machines, but you can't be sure it will be open. They seem to close it from time to time on a whim. The restrooms there are usually clean and stocked. The restroom at Meeting and Mary is often out of service and is not at all nice. It's worth taking a short walk to the other side of the parking garage in order to use the pretty bathrooms in the visitors center. They are always clean and well-stocked for the tourists!
Showing posts with label rivers avenue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rivers avenue. Show all posts
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
my response to the Mayor....
Mayor Summey,
I appreciate your response. My issue is to do with the apparent lack of policy or processes in place at CARTA, and what seems to be a total disregard for the passengers, I've just moved into this area and have no clue as to who the Northwood Estate Neighborhood Council is and who exactly they represent. Something tells me it comes back to a case of the "haves" vs. the "have nots". What process did CARTA follow to verify the issue, and what alternatives were discussed? Was there a study done? What about public hearings to address the needs and concerns of the passengers utilizing these stops, which should be CARTA's first priority? Where do I find a record of this? Why wasn't a stop put in place on Rivers and Greenridge heading towards Charleston? The first change was over a month ago and there are still no signs at the stops or on the buses to advise customers of these changes, nor is there a notice on the website. Because some of the drivers still don't know about the changes and still follow the original route, this leads to confusion for occasional passengers.
It's funny that every driver and passenger I've spoken with says the traffic issue is bogus, as do the property managers of my apartment complex. If you're driving behind a bus, you know it's going to stop. Which takes about two minutes. As to the road construction, I rode the buses every day last week (because even the drivers weren't notified of the changes) and there was no problem with the buses getting through. Peter Tecklenburg informed me when I called in about the first unannounced change that CARTA was expecting the road construction to start back in April so it shouldn't have been a surprise, and an alternative plan should have been in place.
The bottom line is the tenants of all the apartment complexes in my area, the students of the technical school, and employees of Dial America who utilize these stops are basically out of luck because we don't have a "neighborhood council" to represent us! Coming from Charleston we can get off at the convenience store and cross eight lanes of traffic at an extremely busy intersection. Going to Charleston or coming from the direction of Trident Medical Center we have the option of the stops about a mile away at either Kmart or Northwoods Mall, neither of which is easy or especially safe to walk to. In my book, a good public transportation system should be efficient, convenient, safe, dependable, affordable, and focused on it's passengers. At this point, after riding CARTA for ten months, I have to say it hits the mark when it comes to being affordable. I would be more than willing to pay double for my monthly pass if CARTA stepped up to the plate regarding the rest of those requirements!
I've already had to cut my ridership in half due to these issues, and will be cutting it even further. I feel sorry for those passengers who are stuck with substandard public transportation because they have absolutely no other choice. I would love to challenge you and the other board members to put on your walking shoes, and make the trip back and forth to work with me a few times. Maybe that would put things in perspective before any more changes are made without taking the needs of CARTA's passengers into account.
Thank you again for your response.
Kathi Dubuque
I appreciate your response. My issue is to do with the apparent lack of policy or processes in place at CARTA, and what seems to be a total disregard for the passengers, I've just moved into this area and have no clue as to who the Northwood Estate Neighborhood Council is and who exactly they represent. Something tells me it comes back to a case of the "haves" vs. the "have nots". What process did CARTA follow to verify the issue, and what alternatives were discussed? Was there a study done? What about public hearings to address the needs and concerns of the passengers utilizing these stops, which should be CARTA's first priority? Where do I find a record of this? Why wasn't a stop put in place on Rivers and Greenridge heading towards Charleston? The first change was over a month ago and there are still no signs at the stops or on the buses to advise customers of these changes, nor is there a notice on the website. Because some of the drivers still don't know about the changes and still follow the original route, this leads to confusion for occasional passengers.
It's funny that every driver and passenger I've spoken with says the traffic issue is bogus, as do the property managers of my apartment complex. If you're driving behind a bus, you know it's going to stop. Which takes about two minutes. As to the road construction, I rode the buses every day last week (because even the drivers weren't notified of the changes) and there was no problem with the buses getting through. Peter Tecklenburg informed me when I called in about the first unannounced change that CARTA was expecting the road construction to start back in April so it shouldn't have been a surprise, and an alternative plan should have been in place.
The bottom line is the tenants of all the apartment complexes in my area, the students of the technical school, and employees of Dial America who utilize these stops are basically out of luck because we don't have a "neighborhood council" to represent us! Coming from Charleston we can get off at the convenience store and cross eight lanes of traffic at an extremely busy intersection. Going to Charleston or coming from the direction of Trident Medical Center we have the option of the stops about a mile away at either Kmart or Northwoods Mall, neither of which is easy or especially safe to walk to. In my book, a good public transportation system should be efficient, convenient, safe, dependable, affordable, and focused on it's passengers. At this point, after riding CARTA for ten months, I have to say it hits the mark when it comes to being affordable. I would be more than willing to pay double for my monthly pass if CARTA stepped up to the plate regarding the rest of those requirements!
I've already had to cut my ridership in half due to these issues, and will be cutting it even further. I feel sorry for those passengers who are stuck with substandard public transportation because they have absolutely no other choice. I would love to challenge you and the other board members to put on your walking shoes, and make the trip back and forth to work with me a few times. Maybe that would put things in perspective before any more changes are made without taking the needs of CARTA's passengers into account.
Thank you again for your response.
Kathi Dubuque
Mayor Summey's Response...
Ms. Dubuque,
Thank you for writing me. Several months ago, the Northwoods Estate Neighborhood Council approached CARTA regarding traffic hazards entering Greenridge Road from River Avenue. It was requested by the Neighborhood Council that CARTA cease making bus stops for entering traffic onto Greenrigde Road or on northbound CARTA routes. Realizing the safety issue as traffic backed up onto Rivers Avenue, CARTA granted the request. However, traffic exiting Greenridge onto Rivers Avenue has a bus stop specifically for the Dial-America vicinity. Unfortunately, last week the construction on Greenridge Road prohibited the CARTA buses from entering or exiting the road, due to their size. Furthermore, CARTA was not appropriately contacted by the road construction company. Therefore, they had no opportunity to notify riders in advance of the change in service. I regret that you were not made aware of the changes. All parties are now aware of your concerns and this issue should not occur again. For future traffic redirections and interruptions, CARTA should be notified in advance in order to inform all riders of any changes in service.
I hope this information finds you well.
Sincerely, R. Keith SummeyMayor
Thank you for writing me. Several months ago, the Northwoods Estate Neighborhood Council approached CARTA regarding traffic hazards entering Greenridge Road from River Avenue. It was requested by the Neighborhood Council that CARTA cease making bus stops for entering traffic onto Greenrigde Road or on northbound CARTA routes. Realizing the safety issue as traffic backed up onto Rivers Avenue, CARTA granted the request. However, traffic exiting Greenridge onto Rivers Avenue has a bus stop specifically for the Dial-America vicinity. Unfortunately, last week the construction on Greenridge Road prohibited the CARTA buses from entering or exiting the road, due to their size. Furthermore, CARTA was not appropriately contacted by the road construction company. Therefore, they had no opportunity to notify riders in advance of the change in service. I regret that you were not made aware of the changes. All parties are now aware of your concerns and this issue should not occur again. For future traffic redirections and interruptions, CARTA should be notified in advance in order to inform all riders of any changes in service.
I hope this information finds you well.
Sincerely, R. Keith SummeyMayor
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