It's good to see our federal tax dollars are being well used.
Republican Senator Ted Stevens from Alaska, who Alaskans refer to as "Uncle Ted" has appropriated $1.5 Million to build a bus stop in front of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. Meanwhile here in Chicago, the CTA is threatening to substantially cut service for Chicagoans in July leaving several hundred thousand commuters (including yours truely) scrambling for a way to get to work, not that $1.5 Million would make much of a difference for the CTA.
Tom Wilson, Anchorage's director of public transportation said they plan to replace the existing simple steel and glass, three-sided enclosure with something having better seating and lighting. Most likely it will be heated and completely enclosed and may even include heated sidewalks to ensure it remains free of snow and ice.
Here in Chicago most of the bus stops have been replaced through a program spear-headed by Mayor Daley at no cost to the city. In fact the city makes money from the deal. Citizens Against Government Waste has ranked Stevens number 1 on their list every year since 2000. I think "Uncle Ted" should think about giving up his number 1 spot on the list, find a better way to spend $1.5 Million of our transportation funds, and give Daley a call to learn how he can make money building bus stops instead of spending it.
1 comment:
The proposed cuts to the CTA also will drastically affect the disabled who use paratransit (the little Pace buses you often see and private carriers such as CDT). My sister uses the paratransit due to the fact that she is blind and the trips cost at least $1.75 each way for the private carriers and $3.50 for the Pace buses. If the cuts take place, many disabled will pay double those prices, effectively shutting them in yet again, as the disabled are not getting rich on disability. I also work with the disabled in nursing homes and they love going out.
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