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Will public square open to buses? RTA weighs in on final federal deadline

Posted at 4:56 PM, Feb 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-21 18:25:10-05

It's the final countdown for the City of Cleveland and the RTA - the multimillion dollar question lingering: Will buses be allowed through the city's public square?

If they aren't, the city will owe the federal 12 million dollars, a portion of what they received in funding.

Superior Avenue has been closed to bus traffic since the square opened. Mayor Jackson and the city opting to close it down for the sake of a unified square and citing safety. 

"We've been working very closely with the city and their traffic department to come to solutions to return those buses back to service," Linda Krecic, with the RTA, told News 5.

Monday the RTA took the barricades down and tested the route with buses.

"Those buses were not in service, but we looked at some of the safety concerns the city has to return those buses," Krecic said. 

She said they're prepared to do what they need to in order to open the road up.

"We may be setting up some kind of guard rails and maybe putting up barricades that may impede anyone from coming in. Buses will maneuver around those barricades," she said. 

A spokesman for the city of Cleveland told me the city is focused on the financial issues as well as addressing the safety and security concerns.