St. Paul’s Circulator bus: A neighborhood connects the dots
With a name that conjures the image of a strong, healthy heart, St. Paul’s newest Circulator bus program — free and exclusively for young riders — pumps life back into the Payne-Phalen and Dayton’s Bluff neighborhoods.
The Circulator bus provides a simple, but highly effective, solution to the problem of connecting children to “second shift” or extracurricular programs. Despite its simplicity, the bus — which travels a set route that includes stops at youth programming venues, recreation centers, and libraries — required careful planning and crucial financial backing.
Marnie Wells, Second Shift Coordinator for the city of St. Paul, led the organization of the Circulator bus system. Motivated by the need for transportation to second shift programs and inspired by the success of the six-year-old Circulator of St. Paul’s West Side neighborhood, Wells spent a year researching the Payne-Phalen and Dayton’s Bluff neighborhoods.
She interviewed residents, studied the West St. Paul model, and held monthly meetings at the library, where over thirty residents helped plan how the Ciruclator bus would work.
For Wells, one of the most helpful planning tools turned out to be a map. “I said, ‘show me maps: where are the kids? Where are the programs?’ Then we just connected the dots.”
She also worked hard to secure funding for the program, which currently receives support from a number of foundations. Although the program is on thin monetary ice, Wells is convinced the Circulator will be a permanent fixture in East St. Paul. “The community needs it and wants it,” said Wells. “I am optimistic.”
Making an impact
Investors won’t need to wait for results — proof of the Circulator’s impact is already evident in the success of the Eastside Children’s Summer Program, a half-day art and science-based program for kindergarten through 6th graders. Sally Narr, the program’s director, cites the Circulator as the reason for at least 20 different children joining the program in 2007.
Children who otherwise might not be able to attend a summer program were able to participate in the free, safe and enriching program, which included visits from local artists, free lunch, and an emphasis on science. The program’s consistent schedule of intensive reading time successfully helped several children raise their reading levels.
Narr cited this consistency as key to childrens’ achievement — impossible without the reliable transportation offered by the Circulator.
Not only did the Circulator help children attend Narr’s program, it opened other options in the neighborhood. “The neighborhood children discovered they could go to the library on their own,” said Narr.
Measuring the Circulator’s use was easy for Narr. “The week that the bus didn’t come the numbers for the program really dropped.”
Children who attended the Eastside Children’s Summer Program left with raised reading scores and mosaic-making skills, but in Narr’s eyes the neighborhood as a whole also benefited, and she attributes some of this change to the Circulator.
“I felt the neighborhood was much safer this summer,” Narr said. “People were coming out and getting to know their neighbors.”
