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Improvements approved for Rosa Parks Transit Ctr

Posted at 5:45 PM, Jan 18, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-18 17:45:54-05

Bus riders have been complaining about Detroit's Rosa Parks Transit Center for awhile, saying it’s filthy and more needs to be done about it.

Riders say this transit center needs to be cleaned more often, needs more bathrooms and more security. So we checked it out - then went to the city for answers.

With ten being the worst, riders are giving the Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit a 7.

We did go inside of the bathroom, not once but twice, to see how clean it was, when we went inside nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Riders say that's because it depends on the time of day you're here.

We went to Dan Dirks, Director of DDOT. Dirks says they made lots of improvements last year - including fixing the lighting and floors and adding security cameras.

Now, they're looking to pump $625,000 of work into the transit center this year, with another $225,000 next year.

And while adding more stalls and toilets is not an option, they will be doing some plumbing.

The transit center was opened in 2009. Dirks says it was built to service 5,000 people a day, today they’re at about 8,000 - and that's part of the problem.

Which brings up another concern from riders - safety - especially at night. We saw two transit officers and one security guard here today - which is the norm.

The city says the transit officers get constant support from road supervisors and Detroit police officers too. But riders say that's not enough.

The city says you can start seeing changes here this summer. And if there are incidents here that warrant more officers they will add more.

On another note - there will be 24-hour service added again to three routes – Woodward, Gratiot and Grand River.

There will be a public hearing here at 5:00 Tuesday afternoon to talk about it.