The county transit service says it is trying to enhance service, but 262 riders have signed a petition opposing the bus route realignment.
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
Published September 26, 2003
PORT RICHEY - Joyce Patane couldn't ask for better service.
The bus on Route 23 stops every hour in front of her house on Fox Hollow Drive, ready to take her to the bank, the grocery store or the doctor's office.
"Just go down my driveway and it's right there," said Patane, 57, a former home health nurse recovering from cataract surgery. "It's perfect for us."
But it might not stay that way. The county transit system is considering a route change that would take the bus down Embassy Boulevard instead of Fox Hollow Drive.
Patane and her mentally retarded brother, Vincent, are among 262 riders who signed a petition opposing the change.
"We'll have no way to get around," she said. "We'll be stranded."
That was never the intention, said Mike Carroll, the county's transportation manager. Like any other bus system, he said, the county tweaks its routes every few years to reach new riders and add new destinations.
The proposed changes coming before the County Commission on Nov. 4 would affect three routes, he said. Route 25 would be extended from Veterans Village to Mitchell Boulevard. Route 16 would pick up a new stretch of Ridge Road but would drop service to Embassy Boulevard. Route 23 would pick up part of Embassy Boulevard but would drop Fox Hollow Drive.
"Certainly we don't want to remove service from anyone that's currently being served," Carroll said. The plan is "to enhance current service without adding additional resources to it."
Route 23 now takes U.S. 19 north from Gulf View Square mall, then takes Fox Hollow Drive to Little Road.
Under the proposal, Route 23 would take Scenic Drive north from the mall, past Target, Home Depot and the Hollywood 18 movie theater. Then the bus would come down Regency Park Boulevard and take Embassy Boulevard to Little Road.
"We're looking at an overall enhancement to transit service," Carroll said. "The result we'd like to see would be more riders and higher productivity."
As part of the tradeoff, Fox Hollow Drive riders would have to walk a few blocks to catch a bus on Regency Park Boulevard, Embassy Boulevard, Little Road or U.S. 19, he said. Riders unable to walk that far could get a ride from the county's door-to-door paratransit service, he said.
That solution didn't sit well with Eleanor Remeczky, 52, another resident who relies on Route 23. When she heard about the proposed change, the former waiter launched the petition drive.
"People are already using the bus," said Remeczky, who has a medical condition that causes weakness and temporary numbness. "They need it. It's already established."
With her medical condition, Remeczky said, she can't walk several blocks in the heat to catch a bus. And the need is so great for the county's paratransit service, she said, some people have difficulty lining up a ride when they need it.
She hopes the petition will prompt officials to scrap the Route 23 route change, or at least make sure a bus continues down Fox Hollow Drive.
"The way it is (now), you have the freedom and independence to do what you have to do," she said.
- Bridget Hall Grumet covers Pasco County government. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6244 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6244. Her e-mail address is bhall@sptimes.com
