Johnson County commissioners joined officials from Lenexa, Overland Park, Prairie Village, and Mission at an Aug. 4 “rolling” ribbon cutting to celebrate establishment of a new bus route that runs between Lenexa City Center and the Mission Transit Center.
Johnson County motorists recognize 87th Street as a key thoroughfare, but it’s also a vital corridor that connects residents to the Central Resource Library and many other nonprofit services.
That’s one reason people like Johnson County Commissioner Janeé Hanzlick are thrilled about the new bus route that Johnson County Transit launched in early August. Another proponent is Lisa Womack, senior manager of mobility innovation for Johnson County Transit.
Route 487 runs between the Lenexa City Center on the west and the Mission Transit Center on the east, traveling through downtown Overland Park and Prairie Village along the way and bringing riders close to the Library’s Corinth and Cedar Roe branches. The zero-fare route runs from around 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, with buses scheduled an hour apart.
As the county commission’s liaison to the Library Board, Hanzlick knows the importance of making Library services available through public transit. Providing computer access is especially important.
“For some of us, we love having the library, love having the programs,” she said. “But for some people, it means whether they can find a job, it means whether they can access the internet, it means whether they can have their kids do their homework.”
One only needs to look at the strip center across 87th Street from the Central Resource Library to see a couple of important resources along the new route. Catholic Charities has a family support center there and Johnson County Community College runs adult education courses in office space at the center.
Hanzlick served for many years as the CEO of Safehome, a domestic violence agency in Johnson County, and the establishment of Route 487 fulfills one of her longtime goals.
“To not have transit in this area just did not make sense to me,” she said, “and I am thrilled that we now have this route.”
The county commission is piloting Route 487 with federal COVID-19 relief funding. It costs about $325,000 a year to run the route, and Womack is confident the county can finance the route long-term if it proves as popular as transit officials believe it will be.
The route logged 452 riders in its first 30 days. Womack said the goal is to increase ridership by 10% per year. Peak ridership has come on Wednesdays. The new route is a great partnership opportunity for the Library and Johnson County Transit, Womack said.
“I think it will open up some doors if we collaborate together and remind people that we're both still here,” Womack said.
She would like to borrow an idea from Kansas City, Missouri, where the library has read-alongs on the bus. Womack also envisions some programming using children’s characters from the Library.
Womack agreed with Hanzlick that Saturday service would be a big improvement for the route, allowing riders more access to farmer’s markets. Having the bus run later would also benefit workers who work nontraditional hours, she said.
Womack said transit planners love it when they can connect community resources, and as a “library girl” who grew up in suburban St. Louis, she is personally pleased that the route serves several branches.
She has carried a passion for libraries into adulthood from a time when summers meant books and the pool.
“I like all the digital and I like all the technology,” Womack said, “but to me, there's something kind of special about being able to touch the books and use your imagination and go into the library and hear a story or see the characters.”