By: Diane Benjamin
http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=21989
Issac Thorne will be at the Bloomington Committee of the Whole meeting Monday too. He won’t stick around long since he has to be in Normal at 7:00.
Again, there is nothing on the agenda to allow a vote to reject the Connect Transit budget. Tari’s “Armageddon” claims were just fear mongering. The transit fleece will continue unabated until Renner and Koos are replaced.
Maybe Thorne can explain why his huge over-sized buses are destroying the infrastructure? I’m sure it is happening in Bloomington too. I’ve posted pictures of the north-west corner of Portillos before, the buses just keep making it worse:
Taxpayers are forced to pay more to get their roads and sidewalks fixed while Connect Transit buses destroy both!
Bloomington will also hear a presentation on the affects of the new Illinois budget. Of course there is nothing to repeal the additional .04 gas tax since Bloomington will be getting more from the state when it is raised July 1st.
The Council will all discuss appointments to Boards and Commissions. I wonder if Tari will gravel for Buragas and Boyd to be approved to the Connect Transit Board? The rules for appointments are anybody who approves of Renner’s agenda, it just isn’t in writing. Tari keeps saying he has to appoint 300 people to Boards and Commissions. The documentation includes a list all the Boards and Commissions. I counted he appoints a little over half the amount he claims.
Tari has a problem with fear mongering, grand standing and TRUTH! Maybe he plans on running as a Democratic Presidential candidate. He has what it takes!
Connect Transit REALLY has to GO! I’m ALL FOR people who NEED public transport, but NOT busses that are NOT full and spend more time in the country then a farmer!
The disConnect Transit drivers ought to have to take their drivers license test in those buses they (can’t) drive (worth a crap). Hitting curbs, veering into right lanes with absolutely NO regard to vehicles next to them. They should all fail! Then if no drivers, no buses! Seriously part time school bus drivers do a better job.
The buses are too big to navigate the corners!
It is not that the buses are too big, but the fact that they must use the oncoming traffic lane to make a good CDL turn, meaning don’t go over the curb. Maybe the streets need to be made bigger so that we can still use these titanic buses.
The so-called leaders of this community need to admit that mass transit does not and will not ever appeal to the average person in Bloomington-Normal. It should and ought to be redesigned and executed in a focused and narrow manner as a program for the disabled and truly disadvantaged. Average commute times in Bloomington are under 10 minutes and people with a choice consistently have chosen to own/lease a vehicle or carpool with others, rather than take Connect Transit. Yes, that’s right, people acting rationally will choose what works for them. (New York City residents take the subway or walk because it makes sense and works for them.) Yet, Renner, Koos, Connect Transit, and their champions continue to present Connect Transit as a viable transportation alternative for the average person, as evidenced by the marketing efforts, purchases of big buses rather than smaller vehicles, elaborate routes over direct A-to-B transportation. At the end of the day, they have to know that Connect Transit will never get over with the citizens. This is all about protecting their political honeypot and the outside (taxpayer-funded) dollars it brings to political cronies while using the poor and disadvantaged to grow their voter base. It’s great to see that the riders are paying attention and now see that those behind Connect Transit do not have their best interest at heart.
What the support of public transportation in this community gas always been about is changing lifestyles. First, most of CT political supporters are big eco nuts, Agenda 21ers, and climate change believers. They have always believed that by forcing the general population into utilizing buses or bicycles will change the world carbon footprint. Even though many own internal combustion vehicles themselves, the majority of the population shouldn’t because they are more responsible users than you or me. Also, it is much easier to control the herd so to speak if a majority of the population can be forced into limited transportation options. Third, they believe all the sales jobs they attend at conferences and really believe we can be a mid-sized version of Seattle, NYC or Chicago because these people all believe in a condensed urban existence where you live, work and recreate in small areas. It’s never been and never will be about the people that really need and depend on the service. It’s always been political. Always.
WELL PUT BN! This “town” (UP or DOWN) is NOT big enough to financially or feasibly support a LARGE bus system like we have. In fact MANY cities in Europe use MUCH smaller buses in the inner city, as the old streets are very narrow. They use the BIGGER buses to get people to a “terminal” to catch a smaller bus (just like Tucson/Seattle/Praha, Munich, etc. does)
For what we are THROWING AWAY each month, we SHOULD have a MUCH BETTER and CONVENIENT transit system!
King Tari’s problem is obvious: He has anger management issues (unresolved) and delusions of godhood , both of which will continue to get him in trouble. King Tari has made his decision on Disconnect Transit and no serfs are going to tell him what to do and who to appoint! Taxpayers duties are clear to him: pay taxes, and keep your mouth shut. Plain and simple. Until Kings Tari & Koos are replaced by RESPONSIBLE citizens nothing will change. As for disconnect transit, I wonder how long it will be before some innocent person, on a sidewalk, is run down by a bus making a turn . The odds of that are getting there.