Time for the City to give some ground on EMTA

I had originally submitted this to the paper in June, and then withdrew it when I saw a couple City Council members had broken away from the City's irresponsible behavior on this issue. I wrote this in a low-key way this, but I think the time is over for low key. I'm pretty disgusted, especially Mr. Bob Merski's lack of independent leadership. Anyway, this is the low-key version. Feel free to leave your own memories of how things have changed from fifty years ago!
Also check out Pat Howard's excellent op-ed "Mayor owes Erie taxpayers full details of EMTA plan"

by Deb Spilko

1966 electric clock.

I still don’t completely understand what is going on with the EMTA dispute.

But the city’s refusal to drop the fifty-year charter gives me the impression that this is where the bullheadedness starts. Dropping the half-century commitment would be an easy and common-sense first step to get some movement in this crazy impasse.

I’ve lived long enough to know just how long 50 years is, and how much change can happen over that period of time. Socially, technologically, economically. Even the climate isn’t the same.

Making a half-century commitment risks hobbling the ability of the community to adapt and grow with the times. We can’t even be sure how much longer the City Erie will exist as an entity.

Please let me share with you some of the changes I have seen over the life of the current charter.

Fifty years ago, my family lived in northern Summit Township. At that time, the whole area was very rural.  Upper Peach was all woods, fields, and farms. Over on Route 97, by Robison Road, the cows on Sender’s dairy farm grazed on several acres of rolling pasture.

And then? Upper Peach, as you already know, became a regional shopping mecca. The dairy farm is now the casino complex.  And the line between city and county has blurred, as the population has sprawled and sprawled and sprawled.

So many other things have changed since then:

In 1966, Erie was a manufacturing powerhouse. A smartphone would have been the stuff of pure science fiction. The Internet as we know it would be another 25-30 years in coming.The moon landing was still three years away.  Computers were huge and expensive, used mainly by institutions and large businesses for math and science applications.

~~~

You may well wonder why I am taking up your time with all my old days meanderings. After all, the length of the charter isn’t even the most important area of contention in the EMTA issue.

And I guess, in a way, that kind of makes my point. Because of all the things threatened by this crisis, charter length is not such a big deal. And that’s what makes me look more closely at the city’s behavior in this dispute. It would be such small and painless thing to switch to a shorter charter commitment. The fact that the city won’t budge on this little thing, strongly suggests that this is all about refusing to give any ground at all. 

And that is getting to be a very old and stupid story.

Deb Spilko is an alternative transportation advocate who admins Bus Blog and EMTA Riders Discussion Group.  

Illustration: 1965 GE clock radio

Why I'm a mass transit advocate

I became interested in alternative transportation about 25 years ago.

That was when it became clear that climate change was very real. Scientists regarded fossil fuels as the culprit, and automobiles were seen as the major source of fossil fuel consumption.

I found out that one of the most important things a regular person can do to slow climate change is to avoid using cars. And, in fact, there were many other ways that less car use would be good for the planet.

So I actively supported all types of alternatives to the individual auto: bicycling, walking, carpooling, renewable fuels, and mass transit.

I am not particularly “passionate” about buses or mass transit. I do feel a commitment to future generations to have a planet worth passing along. And to that end, I want the people responsible for running mass transit systems to make every effort to make those systems attractive, accessible and convenient so people will want to use them, and feel good about using them. 








Graphic attribution: cliparts.co

Sidewalks finally planned for deadly Peach Street section

Glad to see that Millcreek is finally planning on taking action on the dangerous section of Peach that has claimed two lives.
The stretch--north of Wendy's--is without a sidewalk, exposing pedestrians and cyclists to aggressive Peach Street traffic. Impatient drivers are known to sometimes use that stretch to pass on the right.
The stretch is right next to the busy Peach & Kuntz Rd. bus stop. The stop itself is on a sidewalk, but many riders have to walk along the stretch going to or from the stop, and being at the end of the stretch, they are still exposed to aggressive traffic.
I am hoping that the EMTA has been doing the right thing, and encouraging action on behalf of the safety of riders along that stretch.
Regardless, right now they need to take a vocal and robust role in pushing for immediate action on this, before another tragedy occurs.

News  & Opinion
(most recent first):

• New sidewalks in Millcreek  "The installation of sidewalks along a dangerous section of Peach Street, is officially approved this morning." (YourErie, Published 05/18 2016)
• Deadly part of Peach Street in Millcreek to get sidewalks " A sidewalk proposed for a deadly section of Peach Street near the Millcreek Mall received unanimous support Wednesday from a local transportation committee, making the project eligible for state and federal funds." (Erie Times-News 5/19/16)
• Our View: Why no sidewalks on stretch of Peach? "For too many years, Millcreek officials regarded the township as a suburb intentionally designed to be car-friendly. Pedestrians were an afterthought...Millcreek supervisors should set up that meeting as soon as possible to figure out how to make this area safe for pedestrians. In the meantime, drivers should take extra care in watching out for walkers." (Erie Times-News 10/2015) 
• No sidewalk extension planned as Millcreek police continue probe of fatal pedestrian crash "Millcreek Township Supervisor Brian McGrath said Tuesday that township officials have not discussed extending the sidewalk in that area with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. They have discussed sidewalk installation when meeting with PennDOT officials on roadway construction projects, such as the planned improvements along Interchange Road west of Interstate 79, he said.
• "PennDOT spokesman Jim Carroll said there are currently no projects planned by PennDOT that would involve adding sidewalks to that area." (Erie Times-News 5/14/15)
• Traffic Investigators Map the Scene of Peach Street Accident
• "Witnesses told police the driver, 25-year-old Joseph Bartone, had stopped for the light by the Wendy's restaurant parking lot. Officers say the evidence shows, when he pulled away from the light, heading north, he drove off the east side of the road, where 34-year-old Charles Rodstrom and his companion, 35-year-old Nicholas Sharer were walking, close to their home in the Grenada Apartment complex.  Cpl.Anthony Chimera told us, "From the evidence we have so far, it appears that they were on the berm of the road, they were not in the travel lanes."   (Erie News Now Posted: Oct 12, 2015 4:46 PM EST Updated: Nov 23, 2015 4:46 PM EDT) "
• One Dead and two injured in Peach Street accident  ""According to Millcreek police, two men were walking along the east side of peach street when a car, driven by Joseph Bartone of Millcreek, hit the two men.
• "One of the victims 34 year old Charles Rodstrom, was pronounced dead." (YourErie 10/10/15) 
• Millcreek pedestian killed along Peach Street  "Millcreek Township police said Bryon Long, 27, of Millcreek, was pushing a shopping cart along the east berm of Peach Street, south of Kuntz Road, on Wednesday morning when he was hit by a van that drifted on the berm. Long was pronounced dead at the scene." (Erie Times-News 7/4/13)

Below: Looking south on Peach from Peach & Kuntz Rd. bus stop. Sidewalk stops at end of guardrail.

Facepalm Tales: The Interview

The young man boarded the EMTA bus and headed to his job interview.

With a new haircut, carefully pressed trousers and shirt, and resume in a crisp manila envelope, he exuded confidence and hope.

“I have a good feeling about this,” he said.

He had a job interview at 1:15p.m. He would get there a little early, which would give him a chance to center himself and make a good entrance.

Although there was plenty of room on the bus he remained standing, perhaps to keep his interview outfit looking nice.

Suddenly his mood changed to panic and he ran up front to the bus driver. “Where are you going???” he asked. “Why didn’t you turn?” He told the driver where his job interview was.

The driver explained that the route had just changed, and it no longer went that way. The driver pulled the bus over to the side of the road so the guy could get off and walk the 1.3 mile to where he had reasonably expected the bus would have taken him.

The man left the bus, very upset. I wished him well, but I knew this was going to trash his attitude and appearance for the interview—if he even still had the interview by the time he arrived.

He would arrive late. The summer heat would make him sweaty and the road construction he’d have to hike through might even add a little dust and dirt to the mix. The dirtiest part of this, though, was the uncaring manner in which the EMTA administration made this change with no more notice than a small typed-up notice taped behind the bus driver.

I had seen other sudden and poorly-announced changes previous to this. I happened to find a letter I wrote to the EMTA in 2002, concerning just that. If you are wondering, I never heard back from the EMTA.

This problem with bad communications with passengers goes back at least 20 years. So one could say it may be a problem with company culture more than of any particular administration or mayor.

I’m wondering what it takes to change that culture.

~~~

Below is 2002 letter to EMTA  expressing concern about the bad effects of sudden and poorly-announced changes. Included to make the point that this is a long-standing problem. Address and addressee information intentionally blurred out. Click on image for better view. 
 

Hear out the drivers

I wrote this after listening to the ATU (union) president express his gratitude toward County Executive Dahlkemper for thanking the drivers at the April 25 EMTA Board meeting. ~deb

The passenger boarding the bus was irate. The driver was trying to explain the new policy, but it wasn’t going over well.

The passenger stomped off the bus, cussing a blue streak. She turned around and took aim with her giant cup of soda pop. 

Luckily the driver saw it coming and shut the door, just in time for it to catch the big wet splatter of cola, cup and ice cubes. 

The new policy she was upset about had nothing to do with the soft drink. The passenger was upset about a sudden change that the company hadn't publicized much before putting it into effect. But the flying soft drink was just one of many types of insults EMTA drivers endure.

I'm not a driver. Lord knows I wouldn't have the patience. But I've seen this situation over and over again, I've spoken with drivers who have to put up with it, and I know it takes its toll.

Sometimes insults are just part of working with the public. There's only so much that can be done about ignorant people if you work with the public. 

But you should know that they have to put up with this, and the public and the company they work for need to appreciate that.

What the company can do is understand that drivers are often put in this position, getting stuck with explaining whatever the bus company has come up with this time, sometimes becoming the object of the passenger’s frustration or anger. It is truly emotional shitwork, and one for which they are not appreciated. 

That is one important reason that the company needs to ask for and value the drivers’ experiences with riders. The drivers are the number 1 source of feedback from riders. If the company encouraged drivers to share the feedback, they would accomplish two things.

First they would, of course, be utilizing a source for customer feedback. Secondly, they would probably make life a little easier for drivers if the company would listen to some of what gets people worked up.

The drivers get an earful as part of their job.

The least the company can do is to make every effort to hear them out.