Candidates share views regarding transportation
Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2008
Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of articles featuring Fayetteville’s six mayoral candidates — incumbent Dan Coody, Steve Clark, Walt Eilers, Ward 4 Alderman Lioneld Jordan, Adam Fire Cat and Sami Sutton — and their thoughts on issues facing the community.
Gas prices are up, the economy is down and people want to know what the next mayor of Fayetteville plans to do about transportation in the city and the region. Whether it’s a light rail, increased bus routes or park-and-ride programs, the six potential mayors running in this year’s election all feel like they have the solution.
Buses Buses are a staple of the Fayetteville public transportation system. Walt Eilers said he spent four hours cruising the streets of the city on its two public bus systems, Ozark Regional Transit (ORT ) and Razorback Transit. He said he noticed that on the Razorback buses, originally designed for student travel but open to the public after the city started pitching in $ 50, 000 a year, there were significantly more nonstudents than students. He said ORT buses were also filling up because it’s cheaper to pay $ 1. 25 a ride than drive anywhere these days.
Eilers said there were a few things he’d do to the bus systems. First, he’d provide express buses to places like the University of Arkansas, Wal-Mart, Tyson and other major work hubs in the region. He would then expand ORT, adding additional routes and stops while coordinating the system with Razorback Transit.
“ I would figure out a way for them to work together and create a sustainable transpor tation system, ” Eilers said.
Mayor Dan Coody, Sami Sutton and Steve Clark all agreed with Eilers about expanding ORT.
Coody referenced the fact that he’s been in support of increasing the city’s funding to ORT for quite some time, including an announcement he made in early August suggesting that the funding be increased from $ 186, 000 over the last four years to $ 250, 000. Coody added that he’d like to see more bus routes in the city, but with the current economic downturn, that might have to wait.
Jordan said a stronger partnership with Razorback Transit is essential to Fayetteville’s transportation future. He said the city can’t cut any ORT routes, and expansion is a must. He said both bus systems eventually need citywide routes that cover north, south, east and west Fayetteville.
He also said buses are a big tie-in with his Box Plan. The plan consists of building a massive road project around the city. Starting at Sixth Street near Wal-Mart, the road would travel north to Dot Tipton Road before heading east toward the Northwest Arkansas Mall, then on to Zion Road and over to Arkansas 265 and heading south to Arkansas 16. It would travel west, just below 15 th Street, and wrap back North just past Baum Stadium.
Jordan said that huge project would be a boulevard, four-lane road and be dotted with bus stops.
Clark said he wants to move citizens away from the automobile mentality and into the public transportation mentality, something that’s already slowly happening.
“ 250, 000 of (Razorback Transit’s ) annual riders are Fayetteville citizens, not university students, ” Clark said.
Clark, Jordan, Eilers and Coody all said bus shelters are an immediate need to attract people to use the system, even in inclement weather.
“ Waiting for a bus in the rain isn’t that fun, ” Eilers said.
Sutton and Fire Cat both said that expanded bus systems would be nice, but neither thought the city has the money to do that.
Fire Cat said the city would have to start charging riders a little extra to offset the costs of any expansion. Sutton said a small expansion — a new bus or an extra route — could be funded via donations or high-class fundraising banquets.
Clark, Jordan, Eilers and Coody all pointed out that a bus system would tie into a greater transportation vision for Fayetteville and, hopefully, Northwest Arkansas.
Park-and-rides and satellite parking Clark, Jordan, Eilers and Coody all said satellite parking and park-and-ride programs would be perfect tieins to an expanded bus system. “ A car for every person is a 20 th-century concept, ” Clark said. He said the idea would be to set up traffic studies in the area and find out where people are driving and how many people are leaving the same area to go to the same place. He said lots could be set up in Farmington for people who live in Prairie Grove but drive to Fayetteville. He said buses could meet people just outside the city limits and ferry them to work or another bus connection should they need to travel further.
Eilers said the city could just take advantage of lots that already exist but do not see large amounts of use. Places like the Old Washington Regional Hospital and Drake Field have large parking availability and are perfect places for people to meet up and carpool or hop on a bus. Eilers added the city could divide itself into four quadrants to set up park-and-ride programs.
Coody said he’s looked into Ride Share software, which can be set up by the city and used by citizens to organize a carpool.
“ People can hook up with other people who are going to the same places at the same time, ” Coody said.
Jordan said he’s used a solid park-and-ride system with at his job with the UA and he thinks it would not only provide an excellent transportation option, but it could alleviate parking problems in the city.
“ We would sell parking stickers and four people would share one parking spot, ” Jordan said of the program he’s used before. “ I definitely think it’s a viable program for the city to use. ”
Fire Cat said he’s noticed that satellite parking lots have worked really well with events like Bikes, Blues & BBQ and he’d definitely be in
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