BRATTLEBORO — The public has been frequently locked out of the Transportation Center's waiting area for town buses after 4 p.m. on weekdays and all day on Saturdays.
The waiting area isn't heated during the winter months, either.
Assistant Town Manager Patrick Moreland has tried to keep it open for the hours that the buses are open, but he isn't sure how much longer the town can keep it open.
During the cold snap at the beginning of this month, I saw a lady in a scooter waiting in the cold for a transfer. It was after 4 p.m., and she had to wait outside for more than an hour to get her ride.
Another afternoon, I saw a young mother and her infant standing outside. They have been out in the freezing cold for 40 minutes waiting for their transfer.
From what I've been told by the bus drivers, the riders, and the Town Manager's office, there have been problems at the Transportation Center.
There hasn't been enough security in the past, and there have been fights, drug dealing, and vandalism. Drunks have been hanging out there, as have people with terribly foul mouths. Smokers stand in front of the entrance, and when you open the door, all the smoke goes inside the waiting room.
Some concerned citizens are working hard to find ways to make the Transportation Center a nicer, safer place to wait for a bus. The town and Connecticut River Transit (CRT) are trying to work out an arrangement so that CRT can have an office at the center. That would help secure and detour violence, loitering, foul mouths, and drug trafficking.
In the meantime, there are people petitioning the town to keep the waiting room open during the hours the buses run, and asking for more frequent police patrols at the Transportation Center.
All we want is a safe, secure place for everyone who uses the town buses and to keep it safe until the town comes up with a better plan than it has had in the past.