Changes to Joplin trolley routes to begin Monday

(From the City of Joplin)

With new development in the southern part of Joplin, the City of Joplin has realigned some of its Sunshine Lamp Trolley routes to provide new stops, as well as relocating some existing ones. These changes were made after the City held a public meeting earlier this year to gather input on the proposed routes and stops. Changes will go into effect starting Monday, June 1.

The “Green Route”, is being shortened a bit in order to create enough time to add stops at Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center and Mercy Hospital. To shorten the Green Route, the Trolley will no longer provide service west of Main Street along 32nd or 20th streets. Originally, the Green Route Trolley traveled from 20th Street to 32nd Street along Maiden Lane and Cunningham Boulevard. Stops on the new section of the Green Route, located at 30th & Main and 25th & Main, have been added. The Trolley stop at the former Dillon’s store has been moved to Parr Hill Park. This move will prevent riders in the neighborhood from having to cross 20th street to access the Trolley.

With these changes, riders will now be able to transfer between the Green and Red routes at 20th & Main at 10 minutes past each hour. Additional stops were added to the Red route at 3126 Jackson, 3202 McIntosh, 32nd & McClelland, and Price Cutter. Two new stops on the Red Route will also be added at Cunningham Park and at 20th & Maiden after the completion of the Maiden Lane widening project.

“These changes to the Trolley routes provide access to the southern part of Joplin that has seen new developments in the past year,” said Robert Lolley, Transportation Coordinator for the City of Joplin. “Plus, we were able to add new trolley stops at several of our most frequently requested deviation locations.”

New signage in the Trolley shelters has been added to reflect the changes. In addition, new brochures have been printed with the information, and have been added to the City’s website.
The Trolley operates from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Trolley routes can be found online at www.joplinmo.org/Trolley4routes

Public transportation initially started in 1998 by the City as five vans transported residents to and from their necessary destinations through MAPS (Metro Area Publictransit Service). In 2007, the City introduced the Sunshine Lamp Trolley with a one-hour loop in the northeastern part of Joplin. In 2009, the City added two more routes which overlapped the existing route. Riders can now reach nearly all areas of the City through public transportation.

On average, 11,000 rides are given each month through the Trolleys and MAPS vans. For more information or to receive a Trolley Route map, please call 417-626-8609.