Nestled by SDS Pizza and the Chestnut Fields parking lot, the Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA) is currently laying the groundwork for a new transit hub aiming to ease travel within Oxford and beyond.
The Chestnut Street Multimodal Station is set to open in September 2025. With features like passenger waiting areas and a future connection with Amtrak, BCRTA hopes this new station will provide a wealth of benefits to the Oxford and Miami University communities alike.
Why Chestnut?
Beyond offering the space needed to build the 57,000 square foot station, the Chestnut Street location has long been deemed an apt location for expanding transportation infrastructure.
As noted in Oxford’s 2023 Oxford Tomorrow Comprehensive Plan, Chestnut Street holds the potential for transformative transit-oriented development, according to Zachary Moore, Oxford’s city planner and geographic information system coordinator.
“The comprehensive plan identifies this region of Oxford as a focus area, which means it’s special,” Moore said. “There is a significant opportunity that exists around this region to accommodate change with new forms of development and new forms of growth. This station can create a node of activity that can be capitalized on.”
Additionally, the Chestnut location allows for BCRTA to have a homebase in Oxford.
“We don’t really have a home in Oxford today,” said Matt Dutkevicz, BCRTA’s executive director. “This will be the first time that we have our own office and our own maintenance facility in Oxford.”
Prepping for the new station
Rendering of the Chestnut Street multimodal station. Photo provided by BCRTA
“Everything in Oxford right now is very loopy,” Dutkevicz said. “We know, by and large, people don’t like loopy routes. People generally prefer inbound-outbound routes because they ensure that your stops are on the same sides of the street and that you always hit the same places.”
The new multimodal station will help alleviate this “loopiness” by rerouting some of the current bus lines. These proposed changes were discussed during an Oxford City Council meeting last month.
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To ensure that the re-designed bus routes fit ridership needs, BCRTA is seeking feedback from the local community via a survey. The survey will be open through March 21, 2025, and participants have the chance to win a $25 gift card upon completion of the survey.
In addition to the survey, BCRTA is marketing the station's public transit benefits by speaking with members of Oxford’s City Council and members of the Miami community.
“I think the station is going to bring so much attention just to public transit in general, which our community needs,” said Shawn Cowan, BCRTA’s director of customer care and public engagement. “Anytime we can bring awareness to and overcome people’s perceptions and stereotypes of what public transit is will bring a lot of good.”
Multimodal implications of the station
True to its name, the Chestnut Street Multimodal Station will provide and connect multiple modes of transportation in the Oxford area.
“We see the multi-modal center as being truly multi-modal,” Moore said. “Connecting bicycles, pedestrians, passengers and a future Amtrak station – talk about being truly multi-modal.”
Since the station will align with a portion of the Oxford Trail System, community members can more easily navigate to Miami’s natural areas. Additionally, for any fans of Jungle Jim’s International Market, the R3 route will pick up passengers at the Chestnut Station and drop them off right in front of the Jungle Jim’s location in Fairfield.
From connecting riders to more seamless routes on Miami’s campus to more comprehensive routes in Southwest Ohio, the new station will truly be multi-modal. It hopes to increase the use of public and alternative modes of transportation, especially with a student community that heavily utilizes personal modes of transport.
“We’re working really hard to make sure that the station’s a gateway to the community,” said Dutkevicz.
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