Lorain community gathers to discuss future of Via LC microtransit

LORAIN — Community members gathered Thursday afternoon to discuss the future of public transit. Thursday's public hearing at the United Way of Greater Lorain County — the final of three — focused on possible solutions for the county's ViaLC transit program, which is slated to be terminated due to a lack of funding. At a public hearing earlier this week in Elyria, county officials announced that without an additional $500,000 in funding before the year ends, the ViaLC microtransit van programcould end Dec. 31. But on Thursday, advocates and community leaders gathered to discuss the possibility of saving the program that residents throughout Lorain County rely on for travel to work, school and medical appointments — or simply to accomplish day-to-day tasks. To Fatima Hamzah, of Lorain, the public transit program has deeply impacted her life. "I was using the service all summer long because my car was not working," Hamzah said. "I used it to go to the grocery stores, doctors appointments. And I look forward to using it in the future." As a longtime resident of Lorain, Hamzah said she has seen the effects of the lack of public transit. "Even when I was younger, it was always a situation with transportation," Hamzah said. "It was not available, public transportation. And it caused everything to be very limited to me, you know, for my future." Hamzah said without accessible transit, she missed out on opportunities in life. "This is unique," Hamzah said of ViaLC. "I'd like to see it stay here." As he addressed those in attendance, Lorain County Commissioner David Moore acknowledged that officials need to hear from the community before deciding how to move forward. "This is, to me, an economic development engine to help people get to work," Moore said. "We're going to need your input on pros and cons." According to county officials, the hope is to expand the public transit system beyond servicing the cities of Elyria and Lorain in order to reach communities throughout the county. "This will not pass countywide if it just benefits the cities of Lorain and Elyria. It won't," Moore said. "What we're working on … is a countywide benefit for everybody." To expand the program, additional funding will be needed. County officials said that can be accomplished multiple ways. However, on Thursday, multiple members in attendance spoke of the possibility of crafting a levy that would fund the program. According to interim County Administrator Karen Perkins, there are multiple services that the county is mandated to provide to the community. Public transit is not one of them. "But what we can change is our own destiny by trying to get folks to vote in favor of whether it's a tax or a levy so that transit has that dedicated funding source that it can use to support the services that we already have, make them better and expand," Perkins said. If a levy were to be crafted in order to fund the public transit program, it could potentially be decided by voters as early as May of next year. Kirt Conrad, transit manager for Lorain County, offered details of the timeline of events if a levy were to be put forward. "Before February, the commissioners will have to act (on) whatever source we're going after on the ballot," Conrad said. "In the meantime, we're going to be developing a campaign strategy and all that stuff. … It's going to be a very short turnaround time." If officials are successful, Conrad said the results will be positive for Lorain County. "Hopefully, transportation in Lorain County will look magically different," Conrad said. Moore said afterward that county officials have not yet decided the path they will take in the attempt to fund public transit. However, he acknowledged community support would be needed as the process moves forward. Contact Garrett Looker at glooker@chroniclet.com.