[IMAGE]Rosa-Parks-full-2.jpg[/IMAGE]The new Rosa Parks Transit Center in Detroit is readying for its grand opening on Tuesday, July 14. The three-story, 25,700-square-foot facility is located on the corner of Cass and Michigan.

It will serve passengers riding DDOT (Detroit Department of Transportation), SMART, Transit Windsor buses and the Detroit People Mover. The $22.5 million project was funded with federal and state grants. 

From the new transit center DDOT bus riders will be able to make connections to 20 DDOT routes at a single downtown transfer center. Those routes include:  Cadillac-Harper, Chene, Dexter, Fort, Hamilton, Hayes, Grand River, Grand River, Jefferson, Joy Road, Linwood, Mack, Michigan, Oakland, Plymouth, Russell, Tireman, Van Dyke, Vernor and Woodward.

The new center will offer a well-lit and secure transfer location. The 24-hour multimodal center will provide a covered outdoor facility with 15 bus bays, and a two-bay taxi stand. The three-story building will house a climate-controlled waiting area, restrooms, transit services, retail space and transit police offices. It will also house a Detroit Police Department mini station.

The Detroit Department of Transportation is the first city-owned public transit system in the country. The Department currently has 480 coaches that provide 37.8 million passenger trips annually and is the state’s largest transit carrier.