[nfbmi-talk] FW: CATA Expands Service In Delta Township

Thu Aug 28 15:41:40 UTC 2014

Hi
all,
The Tri County Regional Planning
Commission and their transportation review committee are a great way to voice
my ICE idea. Although, CATA and Etran are voting members of this commission. They
might not like this idea. 
Other possibilities are ballot
proposals or state legislation to create a tri county transportation authority..

 From: Fred Wurtzel via nfbmi-talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> 
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2014 8:39 AM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] FW:  CATA Expands Service In Delta Township

-----Original Message-----
From: Fred Wurtzel [mailto:f.wurtzel at att.net] 
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2014 8:10 AM
To: 'terrydeagle at yahoo.com'
Subject: RE: [nfbmi-talk] CATA Expands Service In Delta Township

Hello Terry,

This sounds like a great project for the Lansing Chapter to undertake.  The
ICE idea is very catchy and would make a great branding idea for the
project.  Mark certainly does know the leadership in a lot of these
communities.  

Mark is 100 percent correct.  A regional approach is absolutely essential to
good transportation in the greater Lansing area.  Just think about the state
Secondary Complex.  Blind people have always had difficulty in working there
due to transportation.  Then, there is St. Johns and Charlotte, the county
seats where people need to go for certain things and where blind people
live.  This is a doable thing, though not, necessarily, an easy thing.
There is a 3-year window where funding is provided for Delta Township.  I
feel it could be done in 3 years.  Blind people would need to help organize
a broad-based group and lead this group to City Council meetings, County
Board meetings and Township Board meetings.  It will be necessary to
identify supporters on all of these boards and commissions who can help get
resolutions, ordinances, motions and the like passed to help create the
support for a regional group.  

Of course, CATA is the 500 pound gorilla which will need to be included
along with Michigan State and LCC.  Judging by the article at the end of
this thread, below, some old wounds will need to heal.  The writer, below,
says that Eaton County doesn't need CATA.  This reflects a lot of people's
thinking.  If the leaders are really interested in quality service, it is an
interdependent community which just happens to have some arbitrary political
boundaries in our midst.  We all need each other to become the great
community of the future which we all want.

With Lansing/East Lansing/MSU/LCC  in the extreme corner of Ingham County,
bordering Clinton and Eaton Counties it only makes good sense to have a
coordinated and seamless transportation system.  LCC has 30,000 students and
a "campus in St. Johns and of course, the west campus in Delta Township in
Eaton County.  ICE is really good thinking and I am excited to pitch in and
help get it done.  The NFB would definitely gain respect and influence if we
pull it off.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: Terry D. Eagle [mailto:terrydeagle at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2014 6:19 AM
To: 'Fred Wurtzel'; 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'
Subject: RE: [nfbmi-talk] CATA Expands Service In Delta Township

I believe the long-term solution is a regional tri-county transportation
system approach.  As Mark suggests, it could be referred to as ICE, for
Ingham, Cnton, and Eaton counties.  If such a regional system can work for
older American and mental health services, it could work for transportation.

The Lansing mayor and governor talk much about regionalization of services,
and now they need to act.  Politics need to be replaced by service to the
public needs.  A regional transportation system would be good for the
economy of the entire area, and spread the cost out to all economic classes
of citizens.  Plus, surveys show the younger generation desires a strong
public transportation system where they reside.  Let's go ICE!

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Fred
Wurtzel via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2014 7:34 AM
To: 'J.J. Meddaugh'; 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] CATA Expands Service In Delta Township

Hello,

Well, a friend visited me from Delta Township, yesterday.  It formerly cost
$5 for the trip into Lansing.  Yesterday it was rolled back to the $2.50
which all other Lansing area trips cost.  To me, this silly battle between
CATA and Eaton county serves no one and causes a lot of inconvenience to a
lot of people.  Before this happened, I believe Lansing Community College
was in violation of the ADA beecause of the West Campus problem.  

So, I'll take 3 years and hope that people can come to their senses in the
meantime and come up with a longer-term solution.

Warmest Regards,

Fred

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of J.J.
Meddaugh via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2014 10:16 PM
To: Elizabeth Mohnke; NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] CATA Expands Service In Delta Township

More news via MSU Today.
Looks like there will be a bus servicing LCC West while school is in
session. That's very cool.
This article lists service changes for the fall.
Honestly, one of the best days for public transit in Michigan I can
remember.
http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2014/cata-service-changes-to-launch-aug-25/

Best regards,
J.J.

On 8/22/2014 7:47 PM, Elizabeth Mohnke via nfbmi-talk wrote:
> Hi J.J.,
>
> Thank you for sharing this link. I believe the Redi-Ride service would go
further west than SpecTran. This new CATA service sounds nice, but I just
read an article on how this new CATA service may be limited as to how long
it sticks around. I was curious where the money for this was coming from
since Delta Township does not pay the new CATA millage rate that went into
effect several years ago. The article appears below for anyone who is
interested in reading it.
>
> Warm regards,
> Elizabeth
>
> Joe Conn Lansing State Journal
>
> 8 hrs
>
> Joe Conn The citizens of Delta Township had a chance to improve a public
transit service when Eatran went for a county-wide .50 millage increase to
the current .25 mil, which would have cost the average home owner about
$25.00 more/year on their property taxes and it was soundly defeated. So,
why would Delta Township want CATA to take over transportation needs when
the cost to the taxpayers would jump from paying Eatran's .75 mil to CATA's
3.007 per year? For example, on a home with a taxable value of $50,000, the
amount for Eatran would be only $37.50. For CATA, it would be $150.00. They
would be paying an additional $112.50 for the SAME EXACT SERVICE. With the
.75 mil, Eatran will be able to: Increase service hours to 10:30pm;
Establish fixed routes, along with curb-to-curb service; and provide 7
days/week service. CATA is running this service on limited grant money. As
soon as it runs out, Delta Township will have to replace it with a millage.
This millage will definitely be more than the Eatran millage would be needed
for this same increased service. Also, CATA is using $140,000 of Delta
Township funds. Where is this coming from??? Why weren't citizens asked for
a vote, or informed of where these monies came from?? It appears the Eaton
county commissioners and Delta Township officials are collaborating to push
Eatran out of business, as Delta Township is a majority of their ridership
and revenues. Why do we need two competing transit authorities in the same
area providing the same curb-to-curb service throughout Delta Township??
Eatran, over and over again, has tried to negotiate a transfer deal with
CATA to allow Eatran riders to transfer without paying an additional fare.
Every time, CATA has refused to negotiate a deal. The obvious choice would
be to keep Eatran because it is definitely less expensive. Why wasn't Eatran
offered the $140,000 to increase their overall transportation services to
the citizens of Delta Township, since they have been the transit authority
in all of Eaton County since 1980? Let's support our own public transit
authority in Eaton County. We DO NOT NEED CATA!
>
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