RICK RINEY
PERRY TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE
Mr. David Goffinet
Lochmueller Group, Inc.
Dear Mr. Goffinet
I have no doubt you must address financial issues, but hopefully not all at one time. It is not the fault of the West Side Residents that bus fare has had no increase since 1999.
Some of our clients have no choice other than the bus. This community is made up of a lot of older folks who do rely on bus service as well as those who use it as their only means of transportation. I just wonder if this survey took them into consideration. It also says it will affect 15,000 annual riders – how many of them will be out of work without transportation? Did the survey factor that in; did anyone talk to any of them?
Surely there must be a better resolution other than that of totally ignoring a sector of the taxpaying community.???
I drove part of the Westside expected routes today. From Speaker Road (the City limits) to the closest bus stop is 1.1 miles. From Mudd Center to the nearest bus stop, it is 6-10 blocks. Howell is at least that. Surely you do not intend for anyone to have to walk blocks – in any kind of weather, with groceries or children – for the opportunity to work or shop in our City, do you? I did not drive the Mesker Park route, but I wouldn’t think you would take away service to the Zoo - would you? Especially if we are trying to sell our city, do we not need transportation for tourists to our attractions?
Unless you rethink this issue, you ARE telling me you want our people to walk 6-8-10 blocks or 1.1 miles, sometimes in the dark, possibly with children or groceries, without “sidewalks†to catch a bus to go to work, a doctor’s appointment or to purchase food. I have not even mentioned the impact this will have on our handicapped individuals.
For the most part, the West Side is pretty content with services provided; however, we do not want to have those we do have reduced. Half the Westside, that’s been in the city 50 plus years, still is without “SIDEWALKSâ€
The elimination of this route will create an unfair hardship. Cities change, as do their dynamics, but we cannot ignore the fact the West Side is still a well-populated, valuable part of our city. Is it possible to lessen the number of stops along the route to keep the bus moving? Could you run the route as is in an “every other†type of route – such as running the route as it is now and then on the next run as you propose? Possibly the bike routes could be financially tweaked and funding transferred – after all, most people do not shop for groceries or transport families on bicycles.
I hope the folks that took this survey come out and see what it would be like to walk a great distance, in inclement weather, in the dark, without “sidewalksâ€, with children, with groceries, etc., after being on their job all day, and see how well that works for them!!!!!
Does the safety of the West Side Taxpayer matter – to anyone other than me?
Respectfully
Rick Riney
Perry Township Trustee
km
July 14, 2015
cc:Â The Honorable Mayor Lloyd Winnnecke
City Council Members
File
Footnote:Â Temperature on July 13, 2015 was 93 degrees with a heat index of 108 per WTVW news cast.
Rick,
Thank you for standing for service to others. I have never ridden the bus and consider myself so fortunate that at this point in time I do not have too. I dread the possibility that someday I might be one of those people out in the weather struggling with medical conditions, waiting at the un-sheltered bus stops wondering if I will make it to my doctor for a scheduled appointment. The city’s combined budget for 2015 is 321 million. Every road and street is a bike path. The city can spend a million dollars on the old CVS and Integra bank buildings on N Main but cant provide bus service to the west side?
Our city cannot afford to keep these routes, but we can afford to dump millions of tax payers dollars into an unwanted hotel. Mean while the Clarion and the Jackson hotel sit vacant.
I think the Winnecke administration has no interest in meeting the real needs of the real community. The Mayor is so fascinated with the “shiny things” that his cronies peddle, including this joke of a study, that he has no time for the people of Evansville. Maybe he needs to be reminded that the median household income in this city is only $35,000 and the population is aging. There is more need for bus routes than there is for dog parks and bike lanes through a crime-ridden section of the city.
Thank you Laura. I completely agree with your post. This issue effects real people with real lives that will be impacted by changing and/or eliminating bus routes. And like others have said, we may all be there one day. I am not sure why it should be getting more expensive to live in Evansville by the day and more difficult to do so as well. There still seems to be no overall plan to guide implementation and change in this city. Could this local government, particularly the executive branch, state its goals and priorities and how they will be funded? No more borrowing please. Lets stop the bleeding before it looks any more like sewage than blood. Money just seems to be spent willy-nilly for things that are not necessary and that mean nothing to me or to my friends and neighbors.
I am so happy to hear from you every once in a while on the CCO Laura. (I don’t read it much any more so maybe I have missed you here) Hope you are still in town to fight the good fight. We need every officer and all the foot soldiers we can muster. And basically we cannot give up because giving up on any standards we hold to, means we are giving up on ourselves and our lives here.
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