COTA begins renovations at downtown headquarters July 8

The Central Ohio Transit Authority, COTA will begin renovations at its downtown headquarters on July 8, to build a new customer experience center and mobility lab.

President/CEO of COTA Joanna M. Pinkerton said, “each renovation will provide unique enhancements for the customer’s experience. The customer experience center will replace our former pass sales facility at 33 North High Street.

“The new look and feel will be much more inviting, will be based around the needs of our customers and reflect the modern direction of COTA.

“Amenities will include user-friendly kiosks, bus arrival/departure information, interactive displays on how to use the COTA system, and our knowledgeable COTA team there to provide assistance on learning how to navigate the community across modes,” said Pinkerton.

She said that, “equally as exciting is the physical demonstration of mobility collaboration and integration in our community, the mobility lab. The 7th floor of our headquarters will transform into a collaborative work area where mobility challenges in the community are tackled by public and private providers, jointly.

“Several start-up companies have committed to moving into this acceleration space, and we invite more thought leaders to join us. Having leading mobility providers embedded in our facility will benefit the community greatly in the form of unique, problem-solving partnerships that provide greater accessibility for the region.

“This is also our demonstration to the economic development and mobility community to inspire, support, and accelerate technology and services that keep our community moving,” she added.

The customer experience center and mobility lab will both be completed by Fall 2019.

SCAO holds Somali Independence Day Festival June 30

The Somali Community Association, Ohio, SCAO will hold Somali Independence Day Festival on Sunday, June 30, 2019 at the Old Schottenstein/ Value City Complex, Westerville/Innis Road, Columbus from 2pm to 9pm.

Spokesperson for the event, Kawther Musa told New Americans magazine that, “it is an occasion to celebrate the Independence Day of Somalia with food, dance and music by Somalis in central Ohio.”

“We have lined up for entertainment Ahmed Resta, Sofiya Tusmo, DJ Amin and Columbus Dhaanto Crew.”