To the editor:

There appears to be two main issues concerning the T: cost and convenience. In regard to cost, it would be helpful to have more information about the proportion of our tax funds spent on public vs. private transportation. Michael Almon (larryville.com) estimates that we currently pay an average of $5,000 a year for our cars while I calculate an individual tax of $36 for the T. Our car taxes include funds for public parking, police, fire, paramedics, licensing and road maintenance. If we are looking for places to trim the city budget, I suggest that we cut funding for private transportation rather than the T.

In regard to convenience, I suggest we begin thinking about ways to enhance the convenience of using the T rather than enabling our car addiction. One way would be to restrict parking within a quarter mile of all retail destinations while allowing the T to take passengers directly to the stores. We could build the city around a public transportation system and alleviate traffic flow at major bottlenecks at the same time.

Another possibility would be to restrict private cars from using roads traveled by the T. Dedicated bicycle lanes could be added to Sixth, Ninth, 15th and 23rd streets enhancing other transportation alternatives. The T will become much more convenient when the price of gasoline reaches $5 or $7 a gallon. It is time we plan for the future rather than cling to the horse-and-buggy planning of the past.

Clifton Pye,

Lawrence