DETROIT – The city of Detroit plans to invest over $800,000 in the next 2 years to make improvements to the Rosa Parks Transit Center.
The transit center at Times Square in downtown Detroit has been plagued with problems and riders say they feel unsafe, particularly at night.
It houses one of the few public restrooms in downtown and acts as a frequent gathering site for the homeless. Riders say the transit police are helpful, but there are too fewof them.
The message boards are frequently wrong or unreliable and ticket machines are often out of order.
At busy times, finding a clean seat is a challenge.
DDOT leaders say it’s a problem of capacity.
“It was built to service 5,000 customers a day,” DDOT director Dan Dirks said. “We’re averaging 8,000.”
The investment will be used to prevent bathroom breakdowns. Officials have already enhanced lighting and snow guards on the roof. There currently are no plans to add security.
“Incidents are down,” Dirks said. “I’m very comfortable with the level of security given the improvement we’ve seen.”
The city is also going to adjust routes to take pressure off the Rosa Parks Transit Center.