I think many more people benefit from stops 1/4 mile apart on rural routes, than the extra stops downtown and around Cornell that are just a few blocks away. #30 stops on Seneca, Cayuga, and Green in a row. I bet I could walk that faster than it takes the bus to make those 3 stops. Do we really need to many stops downtown that are 1 block apart?
-Andy Jon Bosak wrote: > Putting in park-and-ride lots makes sense, but eliminating flag > stops would essentially kill rural bus service. The rural lines > currently serve everyone who lives on a major highway or can walk > to a major highway. If flag stops were eliminated, the only > people the buses would serve would be those who could drive to a > park-and-ride lot -- a big step backward in providing an > alternative to cars. > > If stopping to pick people up or drop them off regularly puts a > TCAT bus behind schedule, then that schedule should be adjusted. > I hadn't heard before that this was a major problem. > > Jon > > Margaret McCasland wrote: >> Sorry for the late reply. I think Rob Morache's earlier post contains >> the kernel of a major solution: more park'n'rides. >> >> I agree there should be less "flag stops;" they are amazingly time >> consuming. I had an unbelievably long bus ride to and from T-burg last >> month which ended up way over schedule. (Perhaps flag stops could be >> allowed only during "off-peak" hours). >> >> However there should be many more "park and rides" to serve outlying >> AND not so far out areas. You can have parking nodes that cluster >> cars without having to build housing nodes and/or abandon existing >> housing stock (especially if they are in areas with farm stands or >> minimarts where people may also want to shop after work). >> >> If some park and rides are near town, people who need to do errands >> after work can take the bus back to their car and then go to the >> grocery store or--gasp--the mall without going all the way home first >> to get their car. Existing "side roads could be feeders to the bus >> system, so the only infrastructure change would be creating the >> parking areas. This would keep cars out of downtown, off the >> campuses, and help keep rural areas rural. >> >> And they don't have to be paved; Enfield is a great example. But we >> also need them closer in--say on the land the County owns near the >> hospital and the Health Department's current location (hmm; could the >> existing parking there turn into a park and ride once the Health Dept >> moves?) >> >> I think ALL the major routes into town need park and rides far out, >> part way into town, and then close in. >> >> To use 96 B as an example: say, South Danby, the hamlet of Danby, and >> then around the Danby-Town of Ithaca line. 96 North of Ithaca already >> has one in T'burg, but needs one further south in Ulysses and then >> again in the Town of Ithaca near CMC (where people from Iradell and >> Hayts Rd and the Dubois Rd areas could feed into the system). I live >> on Hayts Rd, and I know there is a LOT of interest in being able to >> take the bus to the colleges and downtown. >> >> I know park and rides require a lot of inter-municipal and interagency >> cooperation, but cooperation is generally a good thing to do. >> >> Margaret > > _______________________________________________ > For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please > visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ > > RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: > [email protected] > http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins > free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org > > > -- Andy Goodell Assistant Director www.IthacaCarshare.org 607.277.3210 _______________________________________________ For more information about sustainability in the Tompkins County area, please visit: http://www.sustainabletompkins.org/ RSS, archives, subscription & listserv information for: [email protected] http://lists.mutualaid.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainabletompkins free hosting by http://www.mutualaid.org
