Kitsap Transit scheduled a series of public meetings to let residents give input on the proposed Wheaton Way Transit Center in Silverdale and on the North Viking Park & Ride in Poulsbo. There were public meetings in Poulsbo City Hall, two hours later in the Silverdale Beach Hotel, and two hours after that in Port Orchard City Hall.

The series of meetings was an important one. So, why schedule them on June 27, the day of the Kitsap Peninsula Water Trails Festival, a celebration of the federal designation of our waters as part of the national water trails system; and the Port Orchard Fathoms O’ Fun Festival, an annual festival with a scholarship pageant, concert, craft and vendor show, street fair, children’s events, and parade?

Bad timing, Kitsap Transit.

Thousands of people depend on, and pay fares to support, public transit in our communities. Kitsap Transit is supported by our sales tax dollars. It’s a $40 million a year operation that is owned by the public. Kitsap Transit officials must make sure their meetings are as accessible as possible. Surely, an agency that can work out the complexities of a bus route schedule can find a good date for a meeting.

This isn’t the first time this has happened.

In November, only 20 residents attended a meeting in Bremerton — the largest city in Kitsap County — regarding foot-passenger ferry service. One resident blamed the poor public turnout on poor outreach.

“People didn’t know about this meeting,” the resident said.

Here’s what we recommend, Kitsap Transit: Send out a mass-mailed postcard and put cards and drop boxes on your buses, inviting residents and system users to provide email addresses and cell phone numbers so they can be notified of upcoming meetings by email or text; Make sure meetings in each community are near a bus stop, so your biggest stakeholders — those who rely on public transit — can get there (example: in Poulsbo, have the meeting at Olympic College Poulsbo, which is on the Poulsbo Loop route); Make sure the date is free of community events that could limit public participation; Post meeting notices in print and online in the Bainbridge Island Review, Bremerton Patriot, Central Kitsap Reporter, North Kitsap Herald and Port Orchard Independent — total of 65,000 circulation.

For those who didn’t make the past meetings, plan to attend the next series of community meetings on Sept. 19 and 26 in Bainbridge, Kingston, Silverdale, Poulsbo and Port Orchard. Go to www.kitsaptransit.com for times and locations.