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The Monona Transit Committee is meeting this week.
Date: Wed - 08/25/2010
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Monona City Hall, Small Conference Room, 5211 Schluter Rd.
I cannot attend the Transit meeting because I have the Sustainability Committee meeting at the same time. These are comments I have submitted for the Committee's consideration.
The proposed referendum is premature. The RTA Board has not proposed ANY transit plan yet. Once they decide upon a plan there will be a system-wide referendum on whether to raise the sales tax to pay for the plan that is actually proposed. We should wait until then to have a referendum.
The referendum is being pushed by the Dane County Towns Association. I have no quarrel with the Towns association; they are representing their communities’ interest as they see it. The interests of Monona are different from the towns on this issue. We are a suburb that is an immediate neighbor of Madison and within easy reach of bus service.
We should concentrate on telling the RTA what we WANT rather than what we what we don’t want. RTA has been going around the county meeting with communities to get input FROM the community as to their transit needs. In fact, they are meeting tonight (August 25) with Shorewood Hills for that very purpose. Monona has potentially more to gain from the RTA than any other community.
Our bus service is inadequate and prevents us from fully exploiting the advantage we have from our strategic location next to Madison. We are unlikely to be able to expand the service under the current levy constraints. The RTA gives us a realistic opportunity to expand transit services to and from Monona.
Other communities will benefit by having their bus transit costs removed the property tax levy. Our per capita expenditure for transit is relatively low compared to other communities. If we do not demand and obtain increased transit services, then Monona will get a smaller benefit than nearly any city.
I would tell the RTA that Monona wants more comprehensive bus service. Any RTA plan that does not include such expanded bus service for Monona is a non-starter. There may be other things that the city should ask for, but additional bus service for Monona is an absolute minimum.
The referendum only serves to distract us from the real task at hand: helping the RTA Board to shape a plan that will benefit Monona.
RTA Board Chairman Dick Wagner drafted the following 10 points as a starting point for creating a regional transit plan. A final version will eventually include detailed financial information.
1. Expand Transit to a truly regional service using existing providers and selected new providers where needed.
2. Provide financially secure base for existing transit service and remove present transit costs from property tax being paid by citizens of Madison, Middleton, Fitchburg, Shorewood Hills, Town of Madison, Monona, Sun Prairie, Stoughton and Dane County (within RTA for elderly and specialized services).
3. Elements of regional service in the future will include express bus service from many parts of the region for prime commute times and may include Sun Prairie, Fitchburg, Stoughton, Middleton, Verona, Cottage Grove, Waunakee and McFarland.
4. Elements of regional service will include park and ride lots to access express routes and park and ride lots to access other mid-region locations for transit to reduce core congestion trips yet riders can chain errands with their overall trip.
5. Elements of regional service will include improved elderly and specialized transit for the RTA area.
6. Elements of regional service may include new types of service to be determined by the RTA like Bus Rapid Transit and Commuter Rail as analysis of their feasibility continues.
7. Elements of regional service will include a comprehensive fare system permitting differential rates and easy transfers across providers.
8. Elements of regional service will include commitment to green technologies with expansion of bus service by hybrid vehicles and other green options as they are developed.
9. Elements of regional service may include as communities express interest in better intra-service connectivity like shared taxi service used by some communities (at present Stoughton and Sun Prairie) or local circulators combined with express service.
10. Elements of regional service will include participation in a multi-mode transit hub for the region to be developed to accommodate regular mainline bus connections, express bus connections, and possibly BRT buses and commuter rail with inter city bus and rail service.
Monday, August 23, 2010
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What's wrong with telling the RTA what we both want and don't want?
ReplyDeleteI met a couple this summer who vote for Alderman Kugle because they know him. I don't know where they know him from; I didn't ask. But they proceeded to say that they have no idea how he votes as a council person or if his values conflict with theirs. They do conflict: these two were regular bus riders concerned about increasing our options for transit, not limiting them.
ReplyDeleteThis is a big problem in Monona. The people who read Doug's blog are aware and informed, but most aren't.
"What's wrong with telling the RTA what we both want and don't want?"
ReplyDeleteGood point. There's nothing with telling RTA what we don't want, but we don't need to hold a referendum to do so.
"I met a couple this summer who vote for Alderman Kugle because they know him...But they proceeded to say that they have no idea how he votes as a council person or if his values conflict with theirs."
ReplyDeletePeople decide who to support for a lot of reasons and not just for Dennis. Some people will support the person over the issues, if I can use that shorthand. It would be reassuring, however, if voters were aware that they making that choice.
1. Is there a pressing issue at Sustainability? I suppose you need to go that because you chair it? That's too bad. Your voice and insights are sorely needed at the Transit meeting.
ReplyDelete2. As to not knowing the political values of local election candidates, I think that is an incredibly important issue in Monona. This city always votes heavily liberal/progressive in partisan races, yet many haven't any idea that they are voting for people for our council who do not share their values - in the political sense, anyway.
"Is there a pressing issue at Sustainability? I suppose you need to go that because you chair it?"
ReplyDeleteAnd alder Mike is co-chair of SusCom, so one of us needs to be there. SusCom has been scheduled for 7 or 8 weeks, so that's where I'm going to be. I sent my comments and I'll have more cracks at the Transit issue.
"2. As to not knowing the political values of local election candidates, I think that is an incredibly important issue in Monona. This city always votes heavily liberal/progressive in partisan races, yet many haven't any idea that they are voting for people for our council who do not share their values - in the political sense, anyway."
ReplyDeleteCorrect on all counts, but we won't ever have a more progressive/liberal city council until we have more liberal/progressive candidates.
I don't understand why committees with alders who serve on both are scheduled to meet at the same time. Couldn't you at least schedule them back-to-back if they have to be on the same night?
ReplyDelete"I don't understand why committees with alders who serve on both are scheduled to meet at the same time. Couldn't you at least schedule them back-to-back if they have to be on the same night?"
ReplyDelete"You"? I set the date for Sustainability meeting 7 or 8 weeks ago. Mike picked the date for Transit last week.
I didn't literally mean "you" as in Doug Wood. I should have said "couldn't meetings be scheduled back to back if they have to be on the same night?"
ReplyDeleteI stand by the idea that it is poor form and not in the interest of serving the public to schedule simultaneous committee meetings, especially when a committee member is on both committees. I do not understand why one committee is not simply meeting before the other. I suspect Mr. Veserat reads this blog so perhaps he will get the message.
"I do not understand why one committee is not simply meeting before the other."
ReplyDeleteThen you really won't like this answer: Public Safety meets at 7 tonight and Mike chairs that one too.