Access to adequate public transportation is a right. If you think of it in collective terms, we can either collectively provide for adequate transportation for the people living in this city or do it the way we do now, with most people providing for their transportation individually and clogging the streets and polluting the air with a plethora of private automobiles. Were you actually being serious or were you satirizing the position that adequate transportation is not a right when you said that the people in New Orleans who were trapped there should have come up with some "creative means" of solving their lack of a way of getting out of the city? Well, I've got news for you. I don't own and cannot afford an automobile and if Pararie Island ever explodes, I can't get out of here either. I will be completely dependent on the mercies of the government to provide emergency vehicles. Robert Halfhill Loring Park
http://halfhillviews.greatnow.com (SITE NOW BANNED ON AOL) http://www.thepen.us -- Dorothy Titus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Mark said: "A large metro area needs user-friendly, cost-effective public transit, but to assign the word 'justice' to that goal is a very big stretch. It implies that that public transit is an entitlement, and the tax base (collective) needs to accomodate the needs in the name of 'justice'. It also suggests, I think, an underlying belief that nobody should ever be inconvenienced or have to solve problems on their own. Not being able to match bus schedules or LRT routes to your personal needs does not rise to the level of oppression." I wonder if that was the thinking in New Orleans as well. It certainly resulted in an oppressive situation for the poor who did not have cars and could not reach the buses to evacuate. But perhaps they should have thought about that inconvenience in advance and tried to solve the problem on their own by some creative means. Cities nearly always have a certain population that do not own cars either for convenience or because they cannot afford to. In my neighborhood, 21% of those in the workforce used public transportation to get to work (2000 census). 27% of the population lives below the poverty line. Public transportation is important. Certainly, it is not a "right." However, since it is PUBLIC transportation, it needs to serve the public fairly. When significant geographic areas of the city have come to rely on bus service, changes in service need to take into account the impact it will have. People buy their homes or live in areas based on the amenities that are available that are important to them. It is not easy to sell your house or give up your home and find a new location where bus service matches your work schedule. And it's really hard on the kids. Here's a radical idea: We have a $.50 "downtown zone" fare on Metro Transit that allows people to ride the bus anywhere in downtown for a really cheap price. Why can't we have a "neighborhood zone" fare like that in poor areas where people must use public transportation to run local errands near their home? Is it really fair to charge downtown residents and workers $.50 for a short ride while we make those in poor neighborhoods pay $1.25 to do their grocery shopping? Dottie Titus Jordan neighborhood REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
