[Winona Online Democracy] Thanks for this input, Al. Dick had some good info, too, about different transportation options available.
I'm going to try to sum up some of the points made so far: Our bus service is limited and is very cost-efficient. Private-partnerships figure heavily in keeping costs down and serving special populations (i.e., students). Some private industries provide transportation alternatives for workers. SEMCAC provides some transportation to and from Winona for some outllying areas. RSVP can provide volunteer drivers to help patients get to medical appointments. There are concerns that limited transportation options may be a barrier to employment for some. There are ideas for ways to use mass transit to reduce parking issues and congestion. The city is open to input. Did I leave anything out? I'm thinking about a few "action" ideas regarding this discussion. One is related to gathering information and getting it to people who need it, the other is to fill gaps in services. I remember that a while ago we talked about resource data banks. First call for Help is a major resource for our community as far as I know. In the past we've talked about linking people with information via internet cafes, resource directories, etc. Is there a central resource for transportation info? I'm wondering about things like "Your Home Town" or the community pages of the phone book. Clay Templeton, Dave Stoltman and others--Do you have any thoughts on these? I'm also wondering about a transportation needs assessment. I'm betting there's a student out there who needs to do a research project! Project FINE comes to mind--Would this be something that a student might take on under your umbrella? What about the workforce center? What other ideas do people have? Great discussion everyone! Kathy Seifert ----- Original Message ----- From: "Al Thurley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 7:31 PM Subject: [Winona] Mass Transit discussion > [Winona Online Democracy] > > Hi, Kathy and all those in this transportation discussion: > > Let me say that I, too, share fond memories of the busses in Winona. [I'm > glad they ran as often as they did ... I remember that it still was not easy > for an elementary student to ride carrying a very large trombone in an even > larger case!] > > I'm too young to remember the streetcars, but there's a wealth of photos of > them at the Winona County Historical Society's museum on Johnson Street. > Winona was a very progressive city with its own streetcar system - some > evidence of the where the tracks were can still be found on East Third > Street and other places. Alas, the tracks themselves are long gone. One of > the last Winona streetcars (#10) has been found and is being restored at the > Minnesota Transportation Museum. Thanks to Erik Brom for the information - > because of that, I found out that my place of employment, HBC (58 Johnson > Street), is located in what was the former streetcar "barn" for Winona. > > As far as Winona's present system goes, it is one of the most cost efficient > systems in the state. We have a much lower operating cost since the city > owns the busses but doesn't maintain them nor covers the driver's pay. > Although there are liability issues, the city has, in my opinion, been able > to provide this service at a very low cost to the property taxpayer. City > staff has done a very good job of coordinating this public and private > partnership. Input on routes is always helpful and is appreciated. With the > recent replacement of all the system's busses, we now have busses that are > air conditioned and accessible. > > As far as other systems are concerned, I've observed mass transit in Tokyo > and Winona's sister city of Kogota. In larger cities like Tokyo, one really > does not need a car. The subways and trains are very frequent, on time, and > easy to navigate (well, Tokyo Train Station can be intimidating...) When we > were in Kogota, a city of about 22,000 population, we were driven by private > vehicle to and from our various meetings. Taxis in Japan were universally > excellent - mostly new, clean, and virtually spotless - with drivers wearing > white gloves and with fancy doilies on the seat backs. Of course, in Japan > the government requires that car owners maintain their vehicles and pass > tests to make sure they are not rusted or mechanically deficient. (Some in > Japan say it is to benefit the car industry). And the "bullet" trains are > excellent, too. All of this, as my small understanding of their system > goes, was first developed at great government expense, then (in the case of > trains) privatized, with some of the new private companies struggling to > compete. > > As everyone has observed, any extension of transit will depend upon > available funds. As well as whether folks will use it. We have an > efficient and cost effective system now; I would look very carefully at the > impact an expansion would have on the operating costs. > > By the way, the busses being used during the weekend evenings between the > downtown and university campuses are being supported by those institutions > and grants and not by the city alone. > > I also think the city has done quite a bit over the last few years to > promote bicycle transportation, too. > > Thanks for an interesting discussion. > > Al Thurley > 1st ward city council representative > 1566 Heights Boulevard > Winona, MN 55987 > (507) 454-3993 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > _______________________________________________ > This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy > All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. > No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. > To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit > http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona > Any problems or suggestions can be directed to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. 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