Due to the construction on Summit Street, PARTA routes will change or be out of service starting Monday.

The street will become both one-way and one lane starting March 7 as the Summit Street Improvement Project begins its first phase this spring.

Included in these changes will be the cancellation of Campus Loop (51), as well as bus stops on the north side of Summit Street across from Whitehall Terrace and University Town Homes. According to PARTA’s website and the Summit Street Improvement Project page on Kent State’s website, these services will be out until further notice.

Instead of Campus Loop, students will need to take the Reverse Loop (53), which will have an additional bus added to increase route frequency.

The Summit East and Front Campus buses will have new routes and schedules, but will still run.

PARTA routes subject to change due to Summit Street construction from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

The update informs that “the Summit East bus will still circulate through the Kent Student Center and Front Campus, but will only travel eastbound (toward Dix Stadium) between the Student Recreational and Wellness Center and the stadium.”

The changes could add 10 to 15 minutes to travel time, so the update recommends that people plan accordingly.

The Allerton Sports Complex will have no changes to its route.

Claudia Amrhein, PARTA’s general manager, said the changes are estimated to last at least until November.

“I know there are a couple phases to the construction project (and) that it’s estimated to take at least two years,” Amrhein said. “There might be changes within that time period, but right now we know that we’ll be rerouting starting Feb. 29 until about November.”

She added that city routes should not be affected.

According to Amrhein, the biggest issue with the changes will be the initial adjustment.

“There’s not a lot we can do about it,” she said. “Our buses are not allowed to go westbound and that’s a critical thing.”

She stressed that safety is PARTA’s main priority and that it is important for people to try and remain patient and calm during the rerouting.

“We’re going to do the best we can to keep on schedule as much as possible. We’re going to be subject to the construction delays in the same way that other vehicles and pedestrians will be,” she said. “We stress safety above everything else.”

Stefanie Kinnan, a senior fashion merchandising major, said she briefly heard about the changes.

“I’ve heard about it, but I don’t really take the bus that often unless the weather is bad,” she said. “It’s (just) going to make me walk a lot more.”

Cassidy Schaufele, a senior computer science major, said he received an email for the rerouting and thinks it will make public transportation more unreliable for the time being.

“It’s going to make it harder to catch buses because they’re already running late because of construction … they’ll probably be more irregular,”

For more information about PARTA and Summit Street’s construction visit www.kent.edu/summitstreet or http://www.partaonline.org/summit-street-construction/.

Samantha Cottrill is an administration reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].