Dr. Downtown: Vote No on No. 6
David Brussat, GoLocalProv Dr. Downtown
Dr. Downtown: Vote No on No. 6
Funding public transit is important but No. 6 would fund several debatable projects. Rejecting this bond issue would force overdue reforms and shake-ups in how transit funds are spent, how this vital service is operated and how its future is planned.
Part of the $35 million would help fund new bus hubs at Providence Station and at the Garrahy courthouse. But a bus loop could link the train station and Kennedy Plaza at a tiny fraction of the cost of a new hub bridging the railroad tracks. Likewise, a new bus hub at Garrahy should be secondary to a long-proposed public parking garage at that site, and it puts the cart before the horse in the process of redeveloping vacant Route 195 land.
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Use of RIPTA has increased 11 percent in three years, a fact that argues for approving No. 6. Yet, with an expanding economy and falling gas prices, it probably won’t grow as fast and may even decline. That possibility undermines not only the case for No. 6 but for all three of the costly projects described above. But wait, there’s more!
In 2011, an apparent theft of bus fare revenue (a coat was hung over a security camera) led to changes that culminated in the ouster of RIPTA’s director, Charles Odimgbe, for reasons still not made clear to the public. He had been probing some drivers’ use of absenteeism to create fake overtime, a corrupt practice that has cost RIPTA millions. This may be the tip of an iceberg of bad behavior by some bus drivers, some bus passengers and some transit managers that, unaddressed, forces RIPTA to raise fares and cut service instead of operating more efficiently. Passing No. 6 would effectively reward this refusal to tackle RIPTA’s real problems head on.
The Journal of years ago would have pressed authorities to look into these shady circumstances, and indeed run its own investigation. Instead, it has accepted without skepticism various anodyne reports on RIPTA’s management, and has now urged voters to approve Question No. 6. Instead, voters should reject it and press the city, the state and RIPTA’s board to look into irregularities in Rhode Island’s public transit service, whose improved administration would help make the case for the next bond issue.
PolitiHaiku
been there
done that
nuff said
Licentious license plates
We must all screw this phallus to our bumpers next time we register our vehicles. A fitting symbol of how the state all too often treats its citizens.
The yacht Reliance won the America’s Cup in 1903. The vaguely depicted vessel is rendered on the plate as a combination of stylized shapes intended to portray sails taut before a brisk breeze. But one needn’t squint to visualize, instead, a priapic shaft. Tut-tut!
(Admittedly, that other symbol of Ocean Statehood, the lighthouse, might emit similarly exciting connotations.)
The new design also features “Beautiful Rhode Island” on top in gold letters, tying the plate into the state’s new brand. So yes, substitute a beautiful old license plate for an ugly new one! That’s the ticket! Give the boot to one of Rhode Island’s few successful efforts at branding. The alleged creative class into whose hands the state has placed such matters talks the talk of creativity but hasn’t a creative bone in its body.
Pedestrian pedestrian bridge
The pedestrian bridge slated to span the Providence River has reached its 90 percent design stage without including a passage for the city’s river walk beneath its western terminus. WaterFire’s Barnaby Evans urged last week that the design be tweaked to correct this incomprehensible oversight. Good luck with that!
