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Cut Margate Inner City Transit?
• Commissioner wants to talk about it
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Friday,
July 3, 2009
Margate City Commissioner, Pam Donovan, insisted that a proposed Margate Inner City Transit contract be put on the agenda for the next city commission meeting.
Switching to a new company, said the Commissioner, could save the city $250,000, preserve bus routes and keep jobs.
“If we can save the service, we should,” Donovan said at Wednesday's Margate City Commission meeting.
Donovan received little support from the dais Wednesday night, signaling resistance to preserving inner city transit routes for Margate residents who rely on the bus to get to work, school, shopping and the doctor.
“Just because it’s on the agenda doesn’t mean I agree with it,” Mayor Arthur Bross said.
“All it takes is three votes,” replied Donovan.
Margate City Manager, Frank Porcella, announced at a budget workshop Saturday morning that Margate’s Inner City Transit, classified as a non-essential service in the city, might be the first to go to the chopping block as part of balancing the city’s $54 million budget, which is already short more than $4 million.
The city manager expressed concern over residents who might be impacted by the reduction in bus service, but at the same time questioned whether or not it’s government’s responsibility to provide the service.
“Is it the government’s job to buy houses?” Margate resident, Rich Popovic asked Porcella at the workshop. Popovic referenced grant monies obtained by the city to purchase foreclosed homes, bring them up to code and rent them out.
City commissioners in favor of cutting Inner City Transit routes also sit on the Board of Directors for the Margate Community Redevelopment Agency. The MCRA in recent years has approved hundreds of thousands of dollars for streetscape improvements in the downtown district, added numerous bus benches to the city center and recently adopted a grant from Broward County Transit to build a state-of-the art bus shelter which can be seen at the intersection of State Road 7 and Coconut Creek Parkway – all indications that the city supports public transit.
To cut back on inner city transit funding at this point would seem to conflict with the MCRA's vision of interconnectivity and the city's long-term strategic plan.
Who pays for public transportation?
In large part, public transportation is funded by taxpayers. If it wasn’t, the cost of riding a public bus or train would be prohibitive, as ridership numbers are usually insufficient to cover the operating costs of public transportation.
Proponents for public transportation say that critics don’t understand its long-term goal and benefit. Critics, who travel by car, say, “Get rid of the bus. Why should my tax dollars pay for it?”
For the same reason people with no children pay for education, say advocates: to keep social services in check and to provide the infrastructure needed for progress, growth and citizenship.
“If you personally never, ever use transit, you can be sure that your children, dental assistant, hardware store employee, auto shop worker and grocery store clerks are and will continue to use transit. It is my belief that we have an obligation in local government to provide safe and comfortable accommodations for these people,” said Gary Rogers, Executive Director for the Lauderdale Lakes Community Redevelopment Agency and Margate resident.
Rogers compares the transit needs of Margate with that of Lauderdale Lakes.
“In both cities there are large numbers of older and younger people and both cities a higher than average number of lower income people and families. Transit is critical for these communities…and is a worthy investment for our cities in my view as a taxpayer and as a planning and redevelopment professional.”
Rogers believes that public investment in transportation improvements has no equal in terms of return on investment over the long run and points to the Congress for New Urbanism, Reconneting America and the Center for Transportation Studies as valuable resources for anyone looking to better understand the benefits and pitfalls of public transit.
“God forbid we get good enough at running a modern and efficient, reliable transit system, the “suits and skirts” might even use it. Just watch what happens when gas goes past $4 again and then to 5, 6, 7,” Rogers said.
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Copyright Cassius Group 2009
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