Lane Transit District Extends Community Input Timeline About Transit Tomorrow
JANUARY 10, 2020
EUGENE, OR (January 10, 2020) – The Lane Transit District (LTD) Board of Directors has asked for more community engagement before it will make a final decision on the implementation of Transit Tomorrow, a draft plan on how best to deploy the District’s fleet to provide more frequent bus service to more riders in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area. The deadline for public comment has been extended until late spring in 2020.
“Some community members have expressed their concerns about changes in service as well as how much they like their current access,” said Carl Yeh, President of the Lane Transit District Board of Directors. “To utilize this feedback, the Board has decided to take additional time for LTD planners to study this further. As such, the Board will be voting on a Transit Tomorrow proposal no earlier than this spring. This also gives the community more time to understand what the current proposal could achieve for ridership, usability, and the environment.”
The last LTD system review happened 20 years ago. Transit Tomorrow provides an opportunity to collaborate with the community, take a comprehensive look at the system, and provide feedback. Since 2018, more the 62,000 local residents have participated in public meetings, media outreach, online engagement, surveys, and received printed materials about Transit Tomorrow. Based on information from those outreach activities, the LTD Board of Directors made a key decision between investing resources to provide frequent bus service in areas where the most people are likely to ride (ridership) or prioritizing service to reach as many neighborhoods and commercial areas as possible (coverage).
“We are grateful to know that LTD is doing a pretty good job of transporting people—especially people who do not have any other way to get around Eugene-Springfield. However, other board members and I wanted to know if LTD could get more people to where they wanted to go faster and without a schedule,” Yeh said. “Our transit consultant, with public feedback, showed that frequent service in areas where people are likely to ride could lead to higher ridership due to the speed and convenience.”
Yeh added, increased transit frequency along corridors would also support local and national initiatives to help reduce the number of cars on the road resulting in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and reducing traffic congestion.
In addition, Transit Tomorrow is expected to inform the development of a new bus system to provide more frequent access to bus service for people experiencing poverty, seniors, commuters, and all other residents.
“When people see the possible wonderful impact a new system could have for our community, I think they may be more willing to discover new ways to access the transit system. If we do approve such a plan, I know that LTD and its board are committed to helping those neighborhoods with service changes adapt.” Yeh said.
Comments about the draft Transit Tomorrow plan can be made in person at any LTD monthly board meeting, submitted in writing via e-mail at Transit-Tomorrow@LTD.org , on the website at www.TransitTomorrow.org – click on the “Provide Feedback” button, and by mail to Lane Transit District, PO Box 7070, Springfield, OR 97475. Comments can also be left in the Transit Tomorrow phone mail box at 541-682-3240.
NAACP Resolution in Support of Mass Transportation-
WHEREAS, all citizens of this country are guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution and subsequent statutes various civil rights including equal access to opportunities that promote our individual welfare and enable our pursuit of happiness regardless of race, age, religion, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or physical and financial ability.
WHEREAS, the right of access within properties and structures, be they public or private, or even for endeavors as simple as crossing the street, have been the subject of great attention and investment since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
WHEREAS, despite the investment made to more freely move within our nation’s properties and structures or crossing public rights of way, the public and private sector has yet to provide equal transportation access for many Americans disadvantaged by physical, economic or discriminatory hardships to travel to these locations.
WHEREAS, public and private resources continue to subsidize more and wider roads, free parking and the relocation of jobs and services farther away from existing, underfunded transit services and communities, many of them impoverished and/or heavily populated with minorities or disabled persons.
WHEREAS, this worsening isolation of American citizens and its economic and human consequences continue to be documented extensively by the Federal Reserve Bank, the American Community Survey, the Brookings Institution and others.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the NAACP will advocate for legislation in every states’ constitution:
- That declares public transportation to be a basic civil right that is accessible to all regardless of a citizen’s address, race, age, religion, nationality, gender, orientation, or physical and financial ability.
- That authorizes counties to assess regular, periodic social-service impact fees on employers whose facilities are located more than 1,000 feet from an existing transit route with fees scaled based on employers’ annual gross revenues.
- That requires the state to devote to public transportation a share of its overall transportation spending at a rate of no less than the statewide share of households without vehicles.
- That requires the state to distribute public transportation funding to counties or multi-county transit agencies based on the share of households without vehicles in their jurisdictions.
_____