WILMINGTON — A presentation on the local transit feasibility study was provided to the Wilmington City Council on Thursday.

Laura Brown, chief of business development/director of planning initiatives at RLS & Associates Inc. in Dayton, presented the results of the study to see if it was feasible to meet the current and projected future demands.

Brown indicated this was requested by Jessica Powell, the City of Wilmington’s Director of Transportation, and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) agreed, “This would be a good use of funding and time.”

The project scope has two phases listed: the first is “needs assessment” with the second being the recommendations.

In the public survey section, there are 404 total responses, a majority of which were from Wilmington.

When asked if the transit system had the ability to meet transportation needs, 42% said they were able to meet their essential needs but not all, 33% said their transportation needs were met, and 25% said they didn’t have access to what they need.

When asked why not ride the city transit system, 57% said the service hours don’t work for their trip. Other results included 15% saying the transit system was not available in the area, 11% saying it’s too expensive, and 2% saying they didn’t feel it was a safe option. Ten percent replied with “other.”

According to the presentation, preliminary recommendations from RLS & Associates are: continue the existing Wilmington demand response, expand hours of operation, add a deviated fixed route, add countywide demand response service zones, and strengthen collaborations with community stakeholders.

In regard to expanded hours, Brown indicated the ultimate goal would be 24-hour availability, which would require additional, sustainable funding. The first phase of it would expand weekday hours from 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturdays and Sundays from 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The estimated phase one annual operation cost was listed as $306,600.

The deviated fixed route would occur on Highway 22 from Main Street to Progress Way in 60-minute frequencies with weekday service. The annual operating cost is estimated at $143,000.

The countywide demand response is divided into three zones in the presentation. Zone 1 is “consistent with current Wilmington service within city limits,” the presentation states. Zone 2 would be three to 10 miles from the city center. Zone 3 would go from 10 miles from the city center all the way to the county line. Zone 2 and 3’s estimated operating cost was listed as $547,596.

Powell told the council they had reached out to local governments and commissioners in regards to expanding.

“We reached out to the mayors of Sabina, of Blanchester, of all the different municipalities around here and mentioned that if we do expand to the county — we also talked to the commissioners — if we do that we expect funding from them. We’re not expecting Wilmington to fund everything,” said Powell, adding “they were all pretty much on board” with it.

The next steps, listed in the presentation, would include the development of a feasible implementation timeline, identifying potential revenue streams, and issuing a final report before June 30.

Reach John Hamilton at 937-382-2574