Feds: Ohio Suburb Is Ordered To Have Public Transit!

The United States Justice Department and National Highway Traffic And Safety Administration ordered Ohio city to advocate public transit to the nearby hospital and two shopping malls.

Again, I am from Dayton, Ohio. A city that's located in the western portion of the state, Dayton is one of the rust belt cities where Americans are still divided over issues such as race, class and economic standings.

The city is the hub of Montgomery County. The population of the city at present time is 138,000 people.

It's the center of the Miami Valley region. The region sits around the Great Miami and Little Miami Rivers.

The Greene, a town center complex that is located in the Dayton, Ohio suburb of Beavercreek. 

Dayton is considered an economic wasteland. The blight and eyesores of abandoned buildings made the city prone to arsonists. Prostitution is on the rise. Crime is prevalent in many neighborhoods. There are no little to no national establishments on the western side of the city.

The city is close to being a minority-majority city.

With manufacturing drying up, the city is left with nothing but service oriented jobs with little to no pay for those who once built cars and airplanes. The young have migrated to bigger cities in order to find better jobs.

The older generation fear that crime will drive them to move away to the suburbs. And those who lived in the suburbs will eventually migrate further away from the city and suburbs.

Dayton is slated to have a horse racing track and casino, a truck stop and added the revitalization of Interstate 75, the city is trying rebound. Interstate 75 is the major north and south highway that travels from Canada to Miami, Florida.

Before John Kasich got into office, the Republican ran on the notion that cuts are good for the economy.

Dayton and Columbus, Ohio were hoping that Amtrak was on its way back. Kasich cut this train funds and placed it into pro-Republican businesses. Dayton was hoping that high speed rail would bring the city back.

Unfortunately won't happen anytime soon. So what's left is the public transit. A city such as Dayton must accommodate to its residents with public transportation. That's where the Greater Dayton Regional Transportation Authority comes into play. The RTA has 34 routes and it covers most of the Dayton area.

The Mall at Fairfield Commons sits on the corridor of Interstate 675, a bypass on the eastern outskirts of Dayton.

Unfortunately it doesn't cover the Dayton International Airport, and two nearby suburbs. The cities of Fairborn and Beavercreek have bus service only to serve Wright State University, Clark State College-Beavercreek campus, and the Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

The Greater Dayton RTA was handed a victory today. The public transit for the community is granted a right to have bus stops near The Greene, the Soin Medical Center, the Mall at Fairfield Commons and Wright State University.

These facilities are located in Beavercreek, Ohio, a suburb that located six miles from Dayton.

The residents of Beavercreek are pretty conservative. The area appears to favor Republicans over Democrats in the last elections.

The Greene County Area Transit Authority (Green CATS) and Greater Dayton Regionnal Transit Authority have long complained about the city of Beavercreek not allowing access to the malls and hospital.

Beavercreek refuses because of perceptions of violent crime and a rise in theft around the mall.

They have major concerns about loitering by riders and those who may solicit for money near stops.

A civil rights group in Ohio say otherwise. The group believes that due to the local leaders and the extremely conservative views of most residents in the city, they feel that race and class perceive a bias in their decisions.

Dayton is the smallest city that has overhead trolley service. Other cities include Seattle, San Francisco, Boston and Philadelphia have trolley service.

Beavercreek is ordered to have public transit near shopping malls and hospital.

The city of Dayton still have issues with race. Dayton's population declined rapidly after the manufacturing bust by General Motors, and government facilities closing up in the city. The city was left with a large presence of boarded homes and abandoned businesses. Local shopping centers are bare and major retailers are moving further and further from the city. Most suburban shopping centers felt the bust as well. The two shopping complexes the Town & Country Shopping Center that's located in Kettering and the Dayton Mall are the only shopping areas with bus services. They both express concern about the public transportation.

They were concerned that fights, theft and panhandling would plague the malls. They concluded that the Salem Mall in Trotwood went out of business due to public transportation. The Salem Mall was the first Dayton mall. The mall was demolished years ago after many of its shops closed up! The residents of Trotwood blamed the bus for allowing criminals ruin a mall and the region.

The RTA have tried to calm the bad publicity. They've opened up transit centers that provide connecting services from Dayton to many area suburbs. They've partnered up with the Dayton Police and the county sheriff to provide adequate security for all RTA properties and the safety of all riders.

Dayton is bounded by the Great Miami River which separates the city from east to west.

Dayton is an urban rust city. Manufacturing dried up! White flight left the city with a nearly minority-majority population. The city is caught between major cities within a few hours drive. Most of the major attractions aren't near the city, they're either in the suburbs or the somewhere else.

Once again, Dayton has a long way to go in order to solve its racial issues! Hopefully it will for the better!

The Dayton Informer has videos on the controversy.