Changes to Capital Transit that include directing a bus away from a stop near Mendenhall River Community School following a vehicle/pedestrian collision in December, as well as providing service to the new SEARHC clinic and other locations at Vintage Business Park, are scheduled to begin Monday, according to an announcement Friday by the City and Borough of Juneau.
Among the biggest changes is eliminating the Taku Commuter (Route 10), with the service it provided on Riverside Drive and Mendenhall Loop Road now part of the Downtown/Valley Express (Route 8). As a result, Route 8 will turn before it reaches Mendenhall River Community School on Back Loop Road to access Riverside Drive — where permanent stops are still pending.
“Until permanent stops are installed along Riverside Drive, you may flag the bus at any location where it is safe for the bus to stop,” the CBJ announcement states.
City officials announced last month they were planning to relocate a bus stop on Back Loop Road across from Mendenhall River School to the less-traveled Tournure Street on the other side of the school. It was among a series of announced safety upgrades on Back Loop Road after three pedestrians crossing the unlit Back Loop Road to the school sustained non-life-threatening injuries when they were hit by a vehicle shortly before classes started on Dec. 7.
People needing to reach areas of Back Loop Road or Glacier Highway north of Mendenhall Loop Road should use Core Routes 3 or 4 between downtown Juneau and the Mendenhall Valley, or the University Connector (Route 5), according to the CBJ announcement.
New stops near the Vintage Park SEARHC facility and Safeway have been added for the University Connector after it departs the Valley Transit Center, as well as for the Riverside/Airport Connector (Route 6) en route from the airport to the transit center.
Other changes include the Lemon Creek Commuter (Route 7) departing the Downtown Transit Center at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and the morning Egan Express (Route 9) being consolidated into one run at 6:40 a.m.
“As an alternative, riders can use Route 8 which now serves Riverside Drive,” the CBJ announcement states.
The changes do not affect Capital Transit’s “Core Service” between downtown and Douglas (Route 1), and Routes 3 and 4.
Updated schedules and summaries of the changes are available at juneaucapitaltransit.org/schedules. More information is also available from Capital Transit at (907) 789-6901.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
A overhead view of the area surrounding Mendenhall River Community School shows a plan to reroute a Capital Transit bus from Back Loop Road to the less-traveled Tournure Street. (Google image modified by the City and Borough of Juneau)
