Public Transit, like healthcare, education and the quality of law enforcement, is a reliable gauge of the quality of social justice and mutual respect found in a community. While Charleston is listed as one of the best places to visit in the world, its weak public transit falls ever further behind local need and the pressures of a changing economy, where low wages and a high cost of housing push people further from where they work and where they can shop.
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We have downtown service workers, earning ten dollars an hour who pay $18 a day to park because they can't pay $2,300 a month for a one room efficiency apartment. The elderly become shut-ins. The disabled are trapped. The young can't move or learn about their community, finding after school activities, libraries or cultural events beyond reach. No one, anywhere, can take a bus to the beach. Tourists enjoy frequent, reliable service on free DASH buses, but those who live and work here struggle through every trip.
The Lowcountry has no room for wider roads in our urban core. The Council of Governments has spent over 20 years and $2 million on studies of Light rail, monorail, commuter rail and many other options. Nothing's perfect. Nothing is free. Nothing is certain but gridlock and social injustice if the car remains the only functional option for most people.
It's time to build the spine of regional rapid public transit system from downtown Charleston to Summerville, invest in new equipment, buses and stops and put resources into more frequent and reliable bus service. Vote Nov. 8 to allow Transit to Complete the Penny so the Lowcountry can go somewhere together.
The Lowcountry has no room for wider roads in our urban core. The Council of Governments has spent over 20 years and $2 million on studies of Light rail, monorail, commuter rail and many other options. Nothing's perfect. Nothing is free. Nothing is certain but gridlock and social injustice if the car remains the only functional option for most people.
It's time to build the spine of regional rapid public transit system from downtown Charleston to Summerville, invest in new equipment, buses and stops and put resources into more frequent and reliable bus service. Vote Nov. 8 to allow Transit to Complete the Penny so the Lowcountry can go somewhere together.