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SARTA will roll out Massillon route changes at October 7 public meetings, transit agency says revisions to Routes 122/128, 124/126 will improve service

October 5, 2021

Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA) officials will discuss upcoming changes to a number of routes serving the Massillon and Canton areas during two public meetings on Thursday, October 7, 2021 at 9:00 AM and 5 PM. The sessions will be held at the system’s Massillon Transit Center, 41 South Erie St. in Massillon, Ohio and may also be attended virtually via SARTA’s Facebook page which may be accessed at this URL: https://www.facebook.com/SARTAonline or by entering SARTA in the Facebook search bar. A live stream will appear when each meeting begins. The route changes are scheduled to take effect on November 15, 2021.

Public comment and questions are welcome and may be submitted in advance by completing the form at https://www.sartaonline.com/public-meetings. Questions submitted via the website by 12:00 PM on Wednesday, October 6 will be answered during the meetings.

Route Change Details, Massillon Routes 122/128

Stops at Sterelite, Shearers and the Navarre YMCA are being added to SARTA’s Routes 122/128 which will continue to be combined and run at 90-minute intervals.

Route Change Details, Massillon Routes 124/126

SARTA Routes 124 and 126 will be interlined. Rt. 124 will leave the Massillon Transit Center at 6:15 AM and run at 90-minute intervals. Rt. 126 will depart from the Massillon Transit Center at 5:30 AM and run at 90-minute intervals. New service to Amherst Plaza and J&J Motors is being added to the route.  

Complete information about the route changes, including schedules and maps may be viewed at https://www.sartaonline.com/public-meetings

“The changes to Routes 122/128 and 124/126 will boost the economy by making it easier than ever for people to travel to work, restaurants, retail stores, health care facilities, and a wide variety of other destinations in the area and are being made in response to growing demand for public transit service in and around Massillon,” SARTA CEO Kirt Conrad said. “We worked hard to meet that demand and we are pleased and excited to offer enhanced service in this growing part of Stark County.”

According to Mr. Conrad the altered routes will:

• Reduce congestion in the Massillon zone.
• Link the Southeast side to businesses and restaurants on Lincoln Way and eliminate the need for riders to transfer buses.
• Travel to and from Fresh Mark every 90 minutes Monday through Saturday from 6:35 AM to 8:05 PM, augmenting service already provided by SARTA’s Success Express.
• Offer all day rather than limited service to J & J Motors and other destinations in the Northwest section of Massillon.
• Provide new service to the Amherst Plaza as well as Family Dollar, Marc’s, China King and other businesses in that area.
• Offer all day rather than limited service to the industrial centers and employers on Massillon’s Southwest side including Adam’s Signs, MPI Logistics, and EB Display.

In addition to the changes being made in Massillon, the transit authority also announced that Route 101 in Canton will now use 35^th Street instead of 34^th Street when outbound from the Cornerstone Transit Center. The stops now on 34^th Street will be moved to 35^th Street. The change does not impact the existing schedule.

For more information about the public meetings or the route changes please contact SARTA Customer Service at 330-477-2782 Option #2.