Ken Larsen's web site - March 7, 2017 DOLRT speech to BOCC by Brenda McCall
You may not
have all the plans completed in time for a public hearing in early April, but if
we just focus on the financial plan that was submitted to the FTA and the
staff and independent review, there is plenty to talk about:
Here are some
of the most concerning problems with the current proposal:
These
assumptions are alarming to me and a lot of people and they raise basic
questions such as:
Given current problems with
traffic and congestion, can we wait until 2029 for service on the 54
corridor?
How much money is available
to expand our bus service? Because, as we already have seen, our communities
have not noticed the expansions so far and are still waiting for evening
and weekend service.
With debt payments that go
until 2062, when will there be money for the buses that we've all been
waiting for?
If DOLRT is phase 1, when
can we expect to have funds for later phases that will serve the rest of
Orange County?
There is good news. There are exciting changes that lie
ahead and will affect the way we move. There is bus rapid transit (BRT),
ride sharing, autonomous vehicles, and smart roads that will be changing the
face of public transportation. By the time DOLRT starts in 2029 it will be
obsolete.
Consider that
its been only 10 short years since we saw the first smart phones our 20th
century innovations are quickly becoming obsolete! We have to pay
attention to the new technologies that are evolving.
Why take the risk of
locking ourselves into light rail when there are so many exciting technologies
that are more flexible, will serve the entire county, and won't require that we
mortgage our transit future for decades?
Please help
us answer these basic service and phasing questions in a public hearing.
Thank you very much.
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