Local taxpayers will foot a substantial bill for the addition of a new fixed route bus system. Do the proposed routes fit their needs and expectations?
Lawrence residents will have two opportunities in the next week to comment on suggested routes for the city's proposed fixed route bus system.
The routes mapped out by KA Associates, the city's public transit consultant, were published on page 1B of the Sept. 1 Journal-World. Two public comment sessions have been scheduled from 3 to 8 p.m. today at the East Lawrence Center, 1245 E. 15th, and from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Union Pacific Depot, 402 N. Second.
This is the public's chance to let city officials know whether they should move ahead with the routes that have been outlined. The routes go from downtown to the far corners of the city, but there are large residential areas, especially in western Lawrence, where no bus would go within a reasonable walking distance.
One of the priorities expressed by some residents was to help give children access to recreation facilities. Bus routes would go within two blocks of the Lawrence Aquatic Center and close to indoor pools at Lawrence High School and Free State High School. It also would provide good access to South Park and the East Lawrence Center, according to the map, but passengers would have to walk several blocks to Holcom Park Recreation Center.
One route crosses the Kansas University campus, but it wouldn't match the convenience of the existing KU on Wheels bus system. Will this system tie into KU's system? Is it ever envisioned that it would replace KU's system or receive a student subsidy as KU on Wheels now does? Routes also go to the city's industrial parks. Is there any estimate of how many people would use those routes? Will they run on a schedule that would accommodate workers on night shifts?
It also will be interesting to see what sort of schedule consultants envision for the buses. Some of the routes are quite long. If riders must transfer from one route to another, how long would their trip home take?
These are questions that local taxpayers should be asking. Are these routes satisfactory? Are they what taxpayers were expecting from a limited fixed route system? Are they the best the city can do?
The new bus system will be an expensive undertaking for the city. Now is the time for members of the public to try to make sure it provides the kind service they want and need.
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