Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
By TOM LAVENTURE
HURLEY, Mercer, Wis. — If an Iron County grant application is approved the town of Mercer and city of Hurley may receive subsidized public transportation services sometime in 2020, according to officials.
Bay Area Rural Transit (BART), based in Ashland, is a subsidized public transit system that operates at minimal cost to passengers. BART also provides accommodations for physical accessibility to the disabled.
Cally Bucknell, director of the Iron County Department of Human Services, and Trista Olson, director of the Hurley Senior Center, Inc., said Thursday that a County Elderly and Disabled Transportation Assistance grant application for the Specialized Transportation Assistance Program for Counties program was submitted. The grant operates under Wisconsin Statute (85.21) and provides state financial aid to counties through an annual grant program that is administered by the Transit Section of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
According to the grant application there is $15,977,800 in total aid for all counties in 2020. The Iron County allocation is $79,889 with a 0.5% county match of $15,978.
The grant application deadline is Dec. 13.
Bart provides routes service in Ashland, Washburn, Mellen, Glidden, Park Falls, Phillips, Red Cliff Transit (Miskwaabekong), Bad River and Iron River. The routes provide transportation for people of smaller communities to health, retail and other services of the nearest larger communities where there is no similar public transportation.
Olson said that if approved and contracted, BART would provide service each week between Hurley, Bad River and Ashland. The transportation is provided by vans and busses, she said.
“BART is open to the elderly, disable and the public,” Olson said.
A mobility manager would coordinate transportation for people in need of assistance with getting to-and-from appointments, she said.
At the town of Mercer Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday, board chair John Sendra said the Mercer route would be to Woodruff and Minocqua.
“We do have a lot of seniors going to Woodruff and Minocqua to the doctors and to shop,” Sendra said.
The Mercer application is seeking an early morning departure with a mid or late afternoon return time.