Straphangers to Speak to Mt. Pleasant Town Council on Bus Stops July 10
July 9, 2012
MOUNT PLEASANT, SC – July 10, 2012 – Bus Stops will be the focus of remarks directedat Mount Pleasant Town Council on Tuesday, July 10 at 6 pm, when members of the Hungryneck Straphangers attend the meeting to raise concernsabout plans for bus stops along the town’s new roadways now nearingcompletion. Town Council will meet at Mt. Pleasant Town hall at 100 Ann Edwards Lane, a short walk from stops for the CARTA #40 & #401buses.
For full information see www.busec.org or call (843) 870-5299
Over 100 million dollars will be spent on new road construction East ofthe Cooper and members want to be sure everyone it working together tobe sure safe, accessible transit stops are installed along the newroadways.
When calling for interested transit riders and members of the public toAttend, William Hamilton, coordinator of the Hungryneck Straphangerssaid:
When the half penny sales tax for road construction was approved byvoters, the public was assured the new roadways would be ‘completestreets’ usable by transit riders, pedestrians, cyclists and cars. Wewant to be sure that as contractors and governments rush to completethese massive projects that proper bus stops are not forgotten. Installing them later would be more expensive and disruptive totraffic.” said.
As sidewalks and existing bus stop benches have been torn up duringconstruction, ridership on the buses East of the Cooper has slumped asexpected, after having reached new records earlier. Many stops havesimply disappeared during construction. Walking along these roadwayshas become difficult and dangerous, particularly for the elderly anddisabled. Since CARTA evaluates bus routes competitively,infrastructure to support a solid recovery must be in place when theseroads are completed to support returning ridership on our routes tocompetitive levels.
We’re confident if we have comfortable places to wait for our buses andthe sidewalks to reach them in place, transit ridership East of theCooper will recover after construction and resume the rapid growthtaking place earlier this year. We also want to continue to push forplans for an “East Cooperstop” centrally located to enable all EastCooper Transit services to be connected somewhere near the intersectionof I526 and Highway 17.
Citizens can make short remarks during the public comment period allowed during Town Council meetings. Maps and diagrams showing the locationof needed stops can also be handed up.
