Show Your Support for Public Transportation

As you may or may not know for more than a decade various organizations have been trying to get public transportation in the Tri Cities area. There have been numerous studies done on the need and millions spent to gather information on how to best implement an efficient public transportation system. Politically there has been total resistance from mayors and city council members in Prescott, Prescott Valley and Chino Valley to this system.

The Need is Evident

• Seven separate studies, going back over a dozen years, have consistently found a substantial need for a moderate-sized public transit service within and between the tri-cities.
• A demonstrated need for affordable and accessible transportation exists for:
  • Residents who cannot, or should not, drive themselves to essential destinations (doctors, grocery stores, health and human service agencies).
  • Commuting workers, many of who are of low- income status.
  • Unemployed persons striving to move from poverty to self-sufficiency in search of job training and/or local employment.
  • Students attending area colleges
  • Youths too young to drive
• Employers require reliable, on-time arrival of workers, despite transportation challenges.
• Our local economy needs the lift that investments in public transit can generate. Companies looking to locate facilities regularly consider public transportation availability as part of their selection criteria. Conferences and conventions routinely pass on our communities because public transportation is a checklist item for them.
• Environmental impacts, traffic safety, congestion, and volatile gas prices are further incentives for action.
• The recent discontinuance of NACOG vouchers in Prescott has critically strained non-profit transportation providers (e.g. People Who Care, Red Cross Reserve-a-Ride) resulting in hundreds of people not having their essential transportation needs met.

If  you care about this issue, if you want to help, then your pressence is needed as a show of support and political power to local politicians.

The CYMPO meeting will take place on January 20th at 6:00 PM at the County Building on Fair Street in Prescott. Please plan to attend and bring colleagues and clients with you as appropriate. If you cannot attend personally, please send a representative.

If you are a reader of this blog and have an opinion on this issue, either for or against, we encourage you to post comments for all to see. This issue is far too important for the growth and stability of our area to ignore. Post your comments and let your voice be heard.