To the editor:

Around here, folks tend to think that everyone drives. Well, they don’t. Young teenagers don’t drive, blind people don’t drive, old folks whose reflexes have slowed don’t drive, people with seizures don’t drive, people on certain medications shouldn’t drive. And between gas prices and the economy, more and more people can’t afford to drive. Lots of folks are just a job loss away from not driving, and we’re all just a physical injury away from not driving.

I grew up in New York City and used public transit heavily in high school and college. Just this summer, I visited for a week and went everywhere on public transit. It was great. Public transit not only gets people where they want to go, it brings them together across all kinds of social boundaries.

If we really support our public transit, people will use it: young people, old people, rich people, poor people. And for the many people in our community who don’t drive, public transit is essential to their dignity and freedom.

So please vote yes on question 2 (to keep what we have going) and question 3 (to move toward the improved system we need).

Judy Roitman,
Lawrence