WA: Pierce Transit and Community Partners Host Feb. 15 Kick-Off for Fife-Milton-Edgewood Community Connectors

Feb. 10, 2014
The community is invited to join Pierce Transit and the Fife-Milton-Edgewood Community Investment Team on Saturday, Feb. 15 to kick-off Pierce Transit’s new Fife-Milton-Edgewood Community Connector Demonstration Project.

The community is invited to join Pierce Transit and the Fife-Milton-Edgewood Community Investment Team on Saturday, Feb. 15 to kick-off Pierce Transit’s new Fife-Milton-Edgewood Community Connector Demonstration Project.  Two new routes served by two 25-foot Community Connectors will operate as a one-year demonstration project from Feb.16 to Feb. 15, 2015.

Kick-off festivities, including continental breakfast, begin at 9 a.m. at Mountain View Community Center in Edgewood.  The public can tour the Community Connector at Mountain View Community Center, at Fife Swim Center in Fife at 10:30 a.m., or Mill Ridge Village Retirement Community in Milton at 11:40 a.m.  The three locations, along with many other sites, are stops along the two new routes.   

The Milton and Edgewood Community Connector (Route 504) begins service on Sunday, February 16 and operates seven days a week in a one-way loop to sites in Milton and Edgewood.  The Fife to Puyallup Sounder Station Community Connector (Route 503) begins service on Monday, February 17.  Route 503 operates on weekdays only, providing peak commuter service and mid-day access to local services in Fife and Puyallup.

The new routes will result in service adjustments to the Route 402 so that trips are timed to meet the Sounder train at Puyallup Station.  In addition, some Route 501 trips will be eliminated to integrate service with the Community Connectors.  Pierce Transit surveyed customers and gathered public input about the service adjustments to reduce the impacts to riders and improve bus service in the three communities. 

The Fife-Milton-Edgewood Community Connector Demonstration Project is the third demonstration project approved by the Pierce Transit Board as part of its focus on innovative and tailored community solutions.  The service designs are the result of collaboration between Pierce Transit staff and a committed Community Investment Team (CIT).  The Fife-Milton-Edgewood CIT is comprised of representatives of the City of Fife, City of Edgewood, City of Milton, City of Puyallup, Edgewood F.I.S.H. Food Bank, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, Mountain View Community Center and Radiance Homeowner’s Association.  The CIT and Pierce Transit have worked closely to ensure the design would meet community needs, improve commuter connections and integrate the tailored service with the larger transit system.