The City of Raleigh on Wednesday announced the closing of a breezeway near the downtown GoRaleigh bus station as it works to create safer public transit.

According to Assistant Director of Transportation Het Patel, the city will install fencing next week at a breezeway on Wilmington Street that leads to the Moore Square bus station. The fences are expected to be put up by August 25.

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"We are going to be installing a fence on both sides of the tunnel," Patel said. "The fence will have doors, and the doors access will really be for our police department as well as our private security and our GoRaleigh operators."

The Raleigh Police Department and GoRaleigh are hoping the new fencing addition will help with the loitering in that corridor, which police said would include alcohol consumption, large groups hanging out blocking the sidewalk, or even drug sales.

The fencing comes as North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement announced that dozens of people are facing more than 130 felonies in a summer operation around Moore Square, which is about a three-minute walk from the bus station. GoRaleigh serves about 14,000 to 17,000 people a day with approximately 65 buses that go in and out of the station.

According to the Raleigh Police Department, they have received a total of 1,580 calls for service between Feb. 1 and Aug. 19. Those numbers include eight reports of aggravated assault, including one with a gun and six with a knife.

Raleigh police captain Matthew Chestnut said the new fencing will ensure that they aren't splitting resources.

"What we're trying to do is prevent some of the loitering in that area, and have more of the foot traffic inside the GoRaleigh station, where most of our officers are," Chesnut said.

While GoRaleigh and Raleigh police officers hope that this change will help improve safety, some riders believe that this may hinder accessibility. 

"I feel like it would be an inconvenience for disabled people and the people who travel here often. You know, it's kind of easily accessible to the other streets, and I just feel like it's a good thing if they keep it," said Tysheem Blackman, a bus rider.

As for what's coming next for potential safety improvements, Patel said they would look into adding more security resources "when we feel like it's needed," and additional cameras in and around the GoRaleigh station and parking deck next to it.

"That's likely to help out as well," Patel said.