Mayor Duggan takes bus to opening day at Detroit's new Jason Hargrove Transit Center

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan didn't drive to his first or second stop of the day Saturday morning — instead, he took the bus.

Duggan greeted smiling residents, shook their hands and listened to Detroiters as the 4-Woodward bus made its way to the opening day of the Jason Hargrove Transit Center, a 52,000-square-foot sheltered transportation hub redeveloped from the former Dairy Cattle Barn on the abandoned Michigan State Fairgrounds. The center connects five DDOT routes — 4 Woodward, 12 Conant, 17 Eight Mile, 30 Livernois and 54 Wyoming — and eight SMART bus routes to service an estimated 25,000 riders a week, as well as ride-share customers and people using MoGo bikes and scooters.

"We've moved out of that temporary hub into a state-of-the-art transfer facility that's got plenty of amenities, and we'll continue to build upon that," said Michael Staley, interim director of DDOT. "It's the beginning of service enhancements here at DDOT."

The facility, which is part of a $31 million redevelopment of the fairgrounds, is named after Jason Hargrove, a Detroit Department of Transportation bus driver who died of COVID-19 in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic, leaving behind his wife and six children.

Before his untimely passing, Hargrove spoke out for bus drivers like himself, stressing their roles as essential workers during the pandemic because of the community's need for public transportation to take people who were still working to their jobs every day. He advocated for better conditions for bus drivers, like real restrooms to use instead of port-a-potties.

As a result, the Jason Hargrove Transit Center features a dedicated lounge and restroom for the comfort and convenience for bus operators to rest and relax in between their shifts.

"In this specific space, there was a whole lot of talk about making a designated restroom for the drivers ... and a place for them to warm up a lunch they brought in a lunch tote so they could save some money and not have to stop. Little things like that that you don't think is a big deal, but it is," said Corey McIsaac, deputy director of media relations for the city of Detroit. "(These changes) show the bus drivers that the city really cares about them."

Bus riders were the other main consideration in building the new transit center, as passengers had complained to the Mayor's Office for years about having to wait for bus transfers in the rain, snow, cold or heat of a scorching summer day.

"I used to live across the street, and I would watch people sitting out in the wintertime, and cabs would sit at the site, waiting until someone was desperate enough to pay 25 bucks to get home," said Duggan. "That got me thinking when I first ran, 'I got to build a transit center here.' "

"It was (a two-year design process) because DDOT wanted ridership input. ... We had three town hall meetings where we basically just sat with our mics off and let the public talk about what they wanted in this space," said Jason Dyer, the senior project manager for Ideal Contracting.

The new facility boasts a covered bus tarmac to protect passengers from the elements as well as an indoor lobby furnished with benches and plush couches, a ticket office, bus pass kiosks and public restrooms with retail and restaurant options to come, dotted with remnants of the State Fairgrounds Coliseum, like the orange stadium chairs, the signage and a lit scoreboard.

"That also came from the public. We had our engagement meetings with the public about saving as much as we could from the coliseum, so we tried to incorporate what we could into our new facility," said Tyrone Clifton, the director of the Detroit Building Authority. Additionally, by the end of the year, the city will have turned the coliseum's standing portico into a green space and amphitheater.

The Jason Hargrove Transit Center, located at 1120 W. State Fair Ave., is open 24 hours a day and patrolled by the Detroit Police Department. Nonemergency issues can be reported via DDOT Customer Service at 313-933-1300.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mayor Duggan rides bus to Detroit's new Jason Hargrove Transit Center