RTA Offering Free Rides, Opening Select Locations Round the Clock During Cold Spell

Last night, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA) began providing free rides to three transit centers and two Red Line rail stations. They will keep these select locations open round the clock as a haven from the freezing temperatures.

In a statement, RTA said that they will provide the free rides and open centers "for as many days as RTA determines is needed during this record cold spell."

The open transit centers are:

• Southgate Transit Center, 5491 Warrensville Center Rd., Maple Hts., OH 44137
  
• Westgate Transit Center, 21159 Center Ridge Rd., Fairview Park, OH 44126
  
• Parma Transit Center, 8750 Day Drive, Parma, OH 44129
  
• West 117 Station on the Red Line, 11631 Madison Ave., Cleve. OH 44102
  
• Louis Stokes/Windermere Station on the Red Line, 14232 Euclid Ave., East Cleve., OH 44112
  

“RTA wants to help as many people as possible get to someplace safe and warm,” said RTA CEO and General Manager Joe Calabrese. “You can escape the frigid temperatures by hopping on a bus or train and asking the operator for the best route to any of the the RTA transit centers or rail stations that will be open all night.”

These open transit centers will supplement the city's four "warming centers," which are currently scheduled to remain open until Jan. 6. Those locations are:

• Zelma Watson George Recreation Center: 3155 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Cleveland, Ohio 44104
  
• Collinwood Recreation Center: 16300 Lakeshore Blvd., Cleveland, Ohio 44110
  
• Michael Zone Recreation Center (*7pm-9am) : 6301 Lorain Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44102
  
• Lonnie Burten Recreation Center: 2511 East 46th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44104