October 7, 2009
Small group questions StarMetro about future
By TaMaryn Waters
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
A small group of residents unloaded questions stitched with curiosity
and concern
Tuesday during a listening session on StarMetro's proposal to upgrade
the current
bus system.
They asked questions such as, How will the city educate people with
disabilities
about the mound of changes? What will the bus schedule be? How many
buses will be
on each route? How many transfers will I have to take?
The proposal, commonly called Nova 2010, is still in the works, so some
details are
not firm, said Andrea Rosser, a StarMetro planner, during the listening
session at
City Hall.
The goals are to reduce the need to transfer at C.K. Steele Plaza,
increase how often
buses come to a stop and provide service in areas currently lacking bus
stops, such
as Magnolia Drive and Orange Avenue.
The plan currently identifies 11 routes, half of them high-frequency
routes. Ten
of those routes were changed based on previous feedback from residents.
"It's got to respond to a real person's daily life," Beth Hollister, a
resident of
Myers Park, said of the changes.
She doesn't ride the bus now, but she would if it were more convenient.
She said
the current proposal primarily focuses on getting from Point A to Point
B, such as
from going from home to work.
Hollister said the plan needs to show how a rider can access other
places.
Rosser said the current plan would provide five to 13 places to
transfer.
Another concern was how some residents will need to walk further to get
to a bus
stop, even though more buses will serve it.
Others were concerned with the end of bus service to Governor's Square
mall. The
new plan would put a stop on Governor's Square Boulevard, which could
make traveling
profoundly difficult for people with disabilities if they are not
dropped off closer
to the mall.
Rosser said the questions were valuable to the planning process. More
than 100 listening
sessions, which will include law enforcement and specialty groups, are
slated before
a firm plan is presented to the City Commission in February.
She said. "No system is perfect, but the one we have now is a dinosaur."
Additional Facts
Upcoming Public listening sessions:
Thursday - From 7 to 8 p.m., Atkins Building, Koger Office Center, 1320
Executive
Center Drive.
Oct. 14 - From 5:30 to 7 p.m., Leroy Collins Public Library, 200 West
Park Ave.
Oct. 22 - From 5:30 to 7 p.m, Northeast Branch Library, 5513 Thomasville
Road.
Oct. 27 - From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5:30 to 7 p.m., B.L. Perry Jr.
Branch Library,
2817 South Adams St.
Check out the TABI resource web page at
http://acorange.home.comcast.net/TABI
and please make suggestions for new material.
if you'd like to unsubscribe you can do so through the freelists.org web
interface, or by sending an email to the address
tabi-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject.
