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

J.J. Meddaugh jj at bestmidi.com
Sat Aug 30 02:04:09 UTC 2014


Would absolutely love to see this.
I would think, but may not be correct, that the state legislature would 
need to support a RTA for the Lansing area just as it did for Detroit. 
That experience shows us it isn't easy, but it is doable.
Other options include getting neighboring townships to contract for 
service or forming some sort of coalition. Delta Township's lack of 
support for fixed route service in the past doesn't help the situation much.
But one of the best ways to improve transit in Michigan is to 
regionalize it, and anything we can  do to jumpstart that conversation 
would be helpful. Detroit's RTA has been talked about for decades. The 
Silver Line in Grand Rapids was conceived in the early 2000's. These 
things take time but are definitely doable. I think if the Silver Line 
and/or M1 does well, there'll be a lot of momentum to implement similar 
projects in other areas.



Best regards,
J.J.

On 8/28/2014 11:41 AM, Mark Eagle via nfbmi-talk wrote:
> 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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