page_title: Kent, Ohio
section_title: Transportation
hierarchical_section_title: Kent, Ohio / Infrastructure / Transportation
caption_attribution_description: English: View of the Kent Central Gateway in downtown Kent, Ohio, which includes bus bays, a parking garage, and retail areas. It opened in 2013 and was mainly funded by a Federal transportation grant.
context_page_description: Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,904 in the 2010 Census and was estimated at 29,646 in 2019. The city is counted as part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area and the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area.
  Part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, Kent was settled in 1805 and was known for many years as Franklin Mills. Settlers were attracted to the area due to its location along the Cuyahoga River as a place for water-powered mills. Later development came in the 1830s and 1840s as a result of the settlement's position along the route of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal. Leading up to the American Civil War, Franklin Mills was noted for its activity in the Underground Railroad. With the decline of the canal and the emergence of the railroad, the town became the home of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad maintenance shops through the influence of Marvin Kent. In 1864 the town was renamed Kent in honor of and in gratitude for Marvin Kent's efforts.
context_section_description: State Route 59 is the main east–west highway, following East and West Main Streets and Haymaker Parkway.  Summit Street is another major east-west road mainly on Kent's eastern side, passing through and linking much of the Kent State campus. Fairchild Avenue is an important east-west road on the city's west side connecting with Stow and Cuyahoga Falls.  State Route 43 is the main north–south highway, mainly following North Mantua and South Water Streets. SR 43 connects Kent with Interstate 76, approximately 3 miles (5 km) to the south via exit 33 in Brimfield and to the Ohio Turnpike/Interstate 80 and the eastern terminus of Interstate 480, approximately 7 miles (11 km) to the north via Turnpike exit 187 in Streetsboro. Both SR 43 and SR 59 are four to five-lane roads within the city limits.  State Route 261 passes through the southern and eastern edges of the city and is a four-lane divided highway for a short distance with the remainder a two-lane highway.  It serves as a bypass between SR 43, SR 59, and Summit Street on Kent's south and eastern sides and to Tallmadge on the southwest.
  Public transportation is provided by the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority, known as PARTA, which is headquartered just outside the city limits in Franklin Township.  PARTA serves Kent through a dial-a-ride service, the Suburban and Kent Circulator routes completely within the city limits, the seasonal Black Squirrel route along SR 59 during Kent State University's Fall and Spring semesters, and the Interurban connecting with Stow and Ravenna.  There are also two express routes, one to Akron connecting with METRO Regional Transit Authority via Brimfield, and a Cleveland Express route connecting with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority via Streetsboro, Twinsburg, and Maple Heights.  PARTA also includes Campus Bus Service, which provides three fixed routes on the campus of Kent State University. An intermodal transit facility, known as the Kent Central Gateway, opened in 2013 in the downtown area to provide better integration of the existing bus system, hike-and-bike trails, and parking.  The building was financed mainly from a $20 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant received in February 2010 and construction began in April 2011.
caption: Kent Central Gateway, downtown
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