A plan for the future

Buses are a link to necessities, 'freedom'

Plans include spending $71 million to extend bus service, shorten wait times

By DAWN HINSHAW - dhinshaw@thestate.com

Vicki Black chose her home in Columbia’s Rosewood neighborhood because it was close to the bus line.

So she and her husband, Charles, can get where they need to go — to work and school, stores, restaurants and doctors.

But the Blacks, both of whom are blind, face one-hour waits between buses and a system where routes don’t always connect conveniently.

Vicki Black, 55, is especially interested in improvements to bus stops. Sidewalks would add an element of safety as she walks to her bus stop along Beltline Boulevard.

“I’ve got two choices,” she said. “I can stay in my house ... or I can go out and have some freedom.”

Black attended a recent meeting of the county’s Transportation Study Commission, which has put together a preliminary proposal to spend $71 million to extend bus service and shorten wait times to about 20 minutes, among other things.

The money for the projects — which would need County Council approval — would come from a local sales tax, collected over seven years.

Black said it’s a good idea to establish a county director of transportation because that would provide a new level of accountability.

“It would make somebody more fiscally responsible,” Black said. “I’m pretty disillusioned with the transit service right now.”

The bus drivers are great, she added; they’re the reason she’s confident about riding the bus.

Black supports the penny-per-dollar sales tax for transportation, but is afraid Columbians who don’t use the buses are unwilling to pay for improvements to transit.

The $394 million plan also includes money for road improvements and amenities for those who walk and bicycle.

On more than one occasion, a car has clipped her cane as she crossed the street or waited at a corner. “Lord, I wish some people would understand there are other people on the road besides them.”

Reach Hinshaw at (803) 771-8641.