BRTA Working on Comprehensive Regional Transit Plan

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is discussing its five-year comprehensive regional transit plan (CRTP).

"The goal of the CRTP is to review BRTA's goals and mission as a regional transit provider, to assess transit service from the past five years and then expand on enhancements that have worked well, and then make changes in areas where there's opportunities for improvement." said Diane Broderick, with consultant HDR Engineering, at a recent meeting of the BRTA board.

The transit authority's last five-year plan in 2020 had three big takeaways from the outreach efforts: that BRTA brings value to the region, a desire for more bus shelters and benches, and a need for a later evening service.

The 2025 goals of the BRTA are increased fixed-route frequencies, aligning vehicles with capacity and demand, expanding service to rural communities, improving passenger experience through infrastructure upgrades and technology enhancements, exploring micro-transit service to support first and last mile connections, and continuing to upgrade and enhance operations through technology and capital improvements.

Stakeholders were polled on their thoughts, with one question being where they'd like to see the BRTA go, with some saying said Veterans Affairs medical center in Leeds and to smaller communities.

In the polls, the service was commended for riders' personal safety on the bus and at the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center as well as for notifications of a service change.

BRTA Administrator Robert Malnati discussed how much the transit service has grown in ridership.

"The fact that we came from a number last year of, I believe, 535,000 to make a jump of over 600,000 that's huge. And it just goes to show that there is a need for the service that we have out there, the fact that it is fare free now, I believe a lot more people are looking at it as now I can do what I need to do, because I've been able to get on the bus and try it and see how it works for me, and expanding on that," Malnati said.

He says this could lead to looking into and potentially applying for bigger buses.

"With that, we're talking about appropriate-sized vehicles. We're now getting into the point where people are saying, hey, my bus is overcrowded. It's standing room only," he said.

BRTA will be holding a outreach pop-up in July at the Intermodal Center and will have a survey for people to participate in.

Pittsfield Council Says 'Yes' to Soccer at Crane Park

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:35AM / Saturday, June 13, 2026

The pitch will have the logos of the city and the US. and Massachusetts soccer associations. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The city is gladly accepting a "mini-pitch" from the U.S. Soccer Foundation to bring games back to Crane Park. 

Fueling excitement around the World Cup, U.S. Soccer has been working with the Massachusetts Youth Soccer League to make these facilities available to 20 communities — one of which will be at the park at the intersection of Benedict Road and Springside Avenue. 

The City Council accepted the gift on Tuesday during its regular meeting. 

A mini pitch is a compact, modular field typically used for soccer, and it can also accommodate inline skates. It has a galvanized steel border with built-in goals and a rubber plastic surface that is clicked together; installed on the existing inline hockey court. 

Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham said he has gone door to door speaking with nearby residents, and they are "really excited" about the upgrade. He also sees it as a great addition. 

"They say that nobody really uses the court a ton now, and they are excited to see kids back on there playing," he said. 

Decades ago, the Crane Park facility was a wading pool. It closed in 1980, and before the turn of the century, it was filled in and marked for hockey. 

Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath explained that the wooden border around the rink is showing its age, has been vandalized and tagged, and the facility is seeing a "real decline" in use. 

"This would seem to be an appropriate spot for us to remove the board system that's in place and install the mini pitch system through this grant," he said.