In the Spring of 2005, the City circulated a plan to various commissions that entailed putting parking back on the Square and taking several bus stops off the Square. The plan, advanced by the Mayor's office and backed by the then General Manager of Madison Metro Transit was very controversial but was provisionally approved by the Transit and Parking Commission with the proviso that the bus stops not be moved off the Square. Subsequently, the Mayor's office has denied ever linking parking with the removal of bus stops (convenient amnesia?). In the summer of 2005 citizens gathered together to form a Bus Advocacy group because Madison Metro Transit was not advocating for bus users. The bus shelter issue is only one indication of that. Nor was the Mayor's office providing positive leadership. A letter to the editor in October 2005 of a local paper (The Capital Times) distorted the text of a protest about the bus shelters by inventing its own title that focused on the issue of cost. In the Fall of 2005, a plan was floated and approved in Madison's 2006 city budget that would tear down all 7 existing bus shelters on the Square but replace only 4 of them. The plan called for the other 3 bus stops to only have benches. New bus shelters were to cost $75,000 apiece although the standard price for basic shelters was less than a tenth of that. Much of the extra price was due to the fact that the shelters were custom-made, had non-bus utility appendages and were supposed to be "aesthetic" to fit in with the decor of a refurbished downtown. There would not be enough funds to purchase 7 new shelters at that price. Again, this plan was approved by the then General Manager of Madison Metro Transit with the rationale that the bus stops slated for benches instead of shelters (the "orphans") were rarely used. In addition to wanting parking back on the Square, the business community supposedly wants more sidewalk space upon which to locate outdoor seating. The local Alder agrees that this would enhance the appeal of downtown while shelters now occupy valuable space. In late April of 2006, in an effort to gather relevant data on shelter usage on the Square, MABA requested information from Metro Transit under the open records law. An answer was provided by Metro that led to a conclusion that even the least-used shelter was sufficiently used to warrant its retention although it was supposedly used for only two routes. Actually, given construction, the bus stop was being used heavily, and since the rerouting that began at the end of August 2006, the shelter has become a major stop for a core bus (#5) and serves a number of other more limited buses as well. After numerous discussions with a City Planner, the bus shelter issue finally came to a head at the June 2006 meeting of the Transit and Parking Commission. At that time, the commission heard a report from the City Engineer about the Capital Square bus shelters and the plan to tear down all 7 of them but replace only 4 or perhaps 5 of them with shelters. The plan was to replace the other 3 (or 2) shelters with exposed but aesthetic benches. The Commission heard three members of the public oppose the plan, and after a lengthy discussion with the City Engineer, approved a motion to recommend that the existing shelters not slated for replacement be maintained until such time as additional funding could be found to replace them with new shelters. After this turn of events, the City Engineer went to the Board of Public Works in July of 2006 and proposed the initial plan to tear down all 7 bus shelters but replace only 4 or 5 of them. No mention was made of the Transit and Parking Commission's recommendation of the previous month. The Board of Public Works approved the recommendation which then went to the Common Council's August 1 meeting for approval. Again, there was no mention of the Transit and Parking Commission's recommendation. After the impropriety of these events was brought to light, the motion was referred to the Mayor's office but several people testified at the Council meeting anyway. Three spoke in opposition including the Chair of the Transit and Parking Commission. One person who was there for a different reason registered in support of the plan but did not speak. There was no tangible effect of having the issue referred to the Mayor's office. Rather, it was brought up again at the Common Council meeting of Sept. 5, 2006 with the same report but this time with copies of the earlier testimony. A motion to amend the original recommendation was made saying that if the city could not afford all 7 shelters, the remaining shelters "will remain in service until the Council awards a contract, at which time a decision will be made whether to retain the shelters until funds are available to replace them." Furthermore, it was modified to include the statement that "the Transit and Parking Commission shall develop criteria for the placement and removal of shelters" at the end of the resolution. Most recently, as of Nov. 17, 2006, the 2007 city budget was approved with funding for 5 bus shelters. The fate of the other 2 is uncertain. |