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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFACT Sheet- TCAT plans to change bus route 30 from E. Upland Rd to Northway Road.PDFFACT Sheet - ?llFtgEE /.r*,-a*-n"F'<nlrc[a r TCAT Plans to Chanse Bus Route from E. Upland Road to Northway Road Sequence of events: Mid-August. TCAT Buses rerouted down The P way to Klinewoods Road during construction on Triphammer Road. This continued fl several weeks - then busses rerouted down The Parkway to Northway Road. After many phone calls to TCAT, make permanent change to reroute munity mernbers learned that TCAT planned to #30 bus up the Northway to Triphammer Road. Northway Road turn is directly o te the upper driveway entrance to Cayuga Heights Elementary School where there is ex also a driveway for staff parking and ive pedestrian traffic with a crossing guard and udent drop-off. On September 15, many village resi attended Cayuga Heights Village Board of Trustee Meeting to express oppositi to proposed bus route changes - primary concern being that of safety for the school dren. Residents told by Mayor that the vil representatives had no knowledge of the proposed changes - and that he woul community. look into the issue and respond back to the 158 Cayuga Heights residents and community signed letter to Village mbers of thp Cayuga Heights Elementary School or and Village Board of Trustees expressing concern regarding the proposed - and asking the village representatives to work with TCAT to rescind the decision change the route. (see attached letter) CaytgaHeights Trustees invited Na Oltz, TCAT Service Delivery Manager to Ms. Oltz presented reasons why TCAT liked theaddress the village meeting on Oct. 1 proposed change - particularly that T like boing able to serve the school. Ms. Oltz met with communitv mem rs for about t hour after her presentation at the regarding the proposed change. She said shevillage meeting to hear their conce gathered a lot of very valuable i ion that she would share with the Operations and Service Plannins Committee the fol wing day. She told reporters that the information from the villaee meetins would lead to reconsider the bus route change. The following day at the Service Pl committee that " the people enjoy a ing Committee Meeting, Ms. Oltz told the nvenience of parking on the street. They are worried that that convenience will any ofthe actual concerns brousht if the change is made." She did not mention at the session by community members - all of which were related to safety. She ly told community members that she would take back all of the information to t committee the following day - she did none of that. Backsround: TCAT has a bus stop less than one from Northway Road on E. Upland Road. The block is two houses long on one side including the corner houses. f the road, and only 4 houses on the other side, The teachers at Cayuga Heights El School who use the bus for field trips, and the parents, staff members and other ividuals associated with the school who ride the A numbpr of village residents who regularly useTCAT bus, signed our letter of co e6v rvoruvulo yYlrv lw6urorrJ ui ride the bus from the E. Upland Road stop, signedthe TCAT bus, particularly those tha the letter of concern. A question that came up at a recent Planning and Delivery Meeting at TCAT was whether or not the bus services other bus route and bus stops are no closer Cayuga Heights Elementary School: lementary schools in the area. In many cases the the current E. Upland Road stop is from School - one block away, Enfield around the corner from the Enfield There is a TCAT bus stop up the hill all Creek - one block away, Northeast Elementary a bus stop on Route 79, down the street and tary School - equivalent to one block away. from the school on Hudson Street (also a main road the distance from Cayuga Heights Elementaryin Ithaca) - at a distance equivalent School to E. Upland Road. TCAT considers this to be a "minor"Residents of Cayuga Heights and members of the CayugaHeights Elementary change. community consider this to be a major, unsafe The Mayor of Cayuga Heights has that the village has followed the request of the residents to work with TCAT to elim with TCAT but have no answors as o te the change - and that they have been meeting yet. The M4yor and Village Engineer told me have stated that it is the policy of the vil to maintai4 the status quo. The staus quo is to keep the bus )trovember 5,2007 Kathy Luz Herrera Chairman TCAT Board of Trustees Joe Turcotte Cieneral Manager T'CAT Dear Ms. Herrera and Mr. Turcotte: On behalf of the families, students, faculty Fteights Elementary School PTA is writing Bus Route 30. This proposed change raises traffic in and out of the upper entrance to peak during the times of morning drop-off 158 people - representing both residents of School community - expressed these representatives work with TCAT to set aside We understand that the school district is con Elementary School. However, these plans safety posed by the addition of bus traffic to We fully recognize the value of having needs of our school community. We would I With regards,. I Vlfunotl-tAl., t[,t,-l."r Madeline Estill President Cayuga Heights PTA Dooley Kiefer Tompkins County Legislator Nathan Shinagawa Tompkins County Legi Dr. Claudette James, Principal, Cayuga Brad Graing er, Ithaca City School District Nancy Oltz, Manager, TCAT Service Delive TCAT Operations Comrnittee Members TCAT Transit Service Committee Members TCAT Community Advisory Committee bers Cayuga He Cayu ghts Parent Teacher Association Heights Elerhentary School 1 l0 E. Upland Road , New York 14850 staff at the Cayuga Heights Elementary School, the Cayuga express its strong opposition to the proposed change to TCAT serious s4fety concerns involving pedestrian and vehicular Heiglits Blementary School throughout the day, with its uga Heiglrts and members of the Cayuga Heights Elementary to the Villa:ge of Cayuga Heights - and asked that the village lans for a route change. idering alteralions to the upper driveway at Cayuga Heights in their infa$cy, and would not change the issues regarding 15 area. to the TCAT Bus and we believe the current route meets the e your assurances that TCAT will keep the route as is. ts Elementary School rd Member, Cayuga Heights Liaison