[tabi] Re: City aproves nova 2010
- From: "Easy Talk" <easytalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 08:22:10 -0400
You hit the mail on the head, we got sold out for $36,000.00 and I think it was
about 2,600 man hours. As I said it is a budget cut in disguise.
Robert
----- Original Message -----
From: Allison and Chip Orange
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 7:15 AM
Subject: [tabi] Re: City aproves nova 2010
I did have some feeling, from things I was being told "off the record", that
this was going to happen no matter what the public said, because it was
happening for other reasons. I never got a good handle on what those other
reasons were; I suspect operating costs (nova 2010 may have been promised at a
reduced cost) had something to do with it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Easy Talk
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 5:57 AM
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] City aproves nova 2010
Here is the article that was in the paper to-day. This is upsetting to me
since approximately 75 percent of the people who attended were against the
change as presented in Star Metro's final plan. All I can say is the
commissioners voted last night and I will vote at the next election I guess
politicians don't listen. I hope one day all of them have to use what they
just passed.
I have never heard of such a rediceouless process of passing a plan that was
in no way complete. I guess I was right from the beginning when I said it was
a done deal before the first public hearing.
Robert
Tallahassee Democrat
Published: March 25, 2010
Star Metro redesign gains city of Tallahassee approval
By
TaMaryn Waters
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
A massive revamp of Tallahassee's bus system was approved unanimously
Wednesday by
the City Commission.
The often controversial "Nova 2010" plan drew nearly two dozen speakers who
offered
a mix of support for an upgraded system and deep-rooted concerns about safety
and
the impact on those riders with physical disabilities.
The plan, orchestrated by StarMetro, was slated for launch by the end of this
year.
The date has been pushed back to possibly the end of 2011, said Ron Garrison,
StarMetro
executive director.
StarMetro and the city's Public Works Department are hoping to get federal
money
to install more audible devices at intersections, which aid those who are
visually
impaired. And after much criticism, the city intends to build more sidewalks
where
needed, particularly in areas near the system's bus transfer points.
"If it takes a little longer to do it right, then we'll take that time,"
Garrison
said.
StarMetro's overall budget for 2010 is roughly $16 million. Garrison said the
Nova
2010 plan will cost $36,000 less than the current cost to operate the bus
system.
Efforts to restructure the bus system started about 16 months ago, and
StarMetro
staffers have since held nearly 100 public meetings. The original plan
evolved into
nine different versions due to feedback received, according to planners.
The plan will reduce the 26 current routes to 12 "crosstown" routes, which
will include
nearly 43 transfer points. The decentralized concept is designed to eliminate
the
need to transfer at the C.K. Steele Plaza downtown. Planners say buses will
come
to bus stops more frequently, and the plan may attract more riders.
One major change is the elimination of some routes, and buses will no longer
go through
residential neighborhoods. Residents may have to walk up to half a mile to a
bus
stop, compared to a quarter mile typical now.
Linda Pulliam, a Tallahassee bus rider since 1991, said the plan is going to
leave
some residents without transportation they depend on.
"I'm opposed to it because it's not ready yet," she said. "It's not a good
plan.
It's like trying to put a square peg into something round."
Some residents, including those representing state workers and the Greater
Tallahassee
Chamber of Commerce, said they are looking forward to an upgrade. Others say
change
was inevitable.
"As times goes on, the changing demand will change even further," said Greg
Thompson,
chair of the city's Transit Advisory Committee. "We think, though, that time
to make
a change is now."
Owen McCaul, a rider concerned about Nova 2010, said Tallahassee continues to
be
a dangerous place for pedestrians, and he mentioned the "Dangerous by Design"
report,
done by the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership and Transportation for
America.
It gave Tallahassee a "pedestrian-danger index" of 109.4 - more than twice
the national
number of 52.1.
The commissioners agreed there were still safety issues and other looming
questions,
such as fares, that have to be addressed. But they agreed to move forward.
"Change in general for our citizens is kind of hard to do," Commissioner Mark
Mustian
said. "In concept, I think we need to do this."
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