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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Real talk about transit

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It’s time for us to have a candid conversation about transit. Yes, transit. Transportation. How we transport ourselves from one place to another. How we travel to work, to the doctor, the grocery store, dinner with friends, to our children’s schools … how you and I move around our city.

Indianapolis has had a longtime love affair with our cars. Indiana has a rich automotive history dating back to the 19th century. At one time, Indianapolis contained more auto plants than any city in Michigan, including Detroit, and Indiana was ranked second after Michigan for automotive production. That’s a whole lot of cars being built and sold here in our state. But just because we have a long-standing history of building cars in Indiana, does that give us the right to stand in the way of those who rely on or prefer to use public transportation?

Sometimes it seems as if the type of car you drive or the number of cars sitting in your driveway is a symbol of one’s social status. Cars send an unspoken message about your income, family size and socio-economic level. For teens, securing a driver’s license is a rite of passage. I remember when I first got my driver’s license — my girlfriends and I would roll up and down 38th Street with our music bumping, acting like we were so cool. We would do this for hours, making an occasional stop along the way, pulling up to whatever fast food restaurant parking lot we saw our friends hanging out in. I loved being able to drive and loved my car. I really did. But just because we have fond memories of cruising down 38th Street, does that give us the right to stand in the way of those who rely on or prefer to use public transportation?

Access to public transportation levels the playing field — it gives everyone the chance for fair and equal access. For decades, I worked as a social services provider. My heart would ache for clients who would have to catch a bus in the wee hours of the morning to travel across town for a job interview, only to wait hours for that same bus to return and take them home. Sadly, I have witnessed on more than one occasion clients who could not accept a position because there was no bus available to get them to and from work. For a city like Indianapolis, that is unacceptable. Many of us have a car parked right outside our home, and we have no right to stand in the way of those who need public transportation to get to work and earn a decent living.

I know many people in our city will never use public transportation. We have our cars, prefer to drive and public transportation just isn’t for us. That’s fine, but do we have the right to hinder access to public transportation for those who need it? I could spend time talking about how investment in our transportation infrastructure, particularly public transportation, drives growth. I could talk about how an expanded public transportation system will connect restaurants to diners, landlords to renters, families to local stores and employers to employees. But that won’t make you park your car in your two- or three-car garage and utilize public transportation the next time you have to head out to the grocery store, a doctor appointment or dinner with friends. It won’t. But I raise the question again: Just because you don’t need public transportation, does that give you the right to prevent access for those who do?

Let’s talk numbers. An expanded transit system in Indianapolis would provide a 178 percent increase in residents near a frequent route. It would also provide a 68 percent increase in access to jobs, a 187 percent increase in access to low-income households near a frequent route and a 180 percent increase in access for minority residents. Numbers such as these should give us all hope. They should also begin to clearly explain why we have a responsibility to support an expanded transportation system in Indianapolis. Imagine all the opportunity and hope that would be gained if all of our residents had access to resources to improve their overall quality of life.

I support mass transit because I believe the pros outweigh the cons, but that isn’t the question that has been placed in front of the City-County Council. The question is, “Should we put a referendum on the November 2016 ballot requesting new funding for an expanded transportation system?” Each and every one of us would be responsible for the funding. We need to know how you would like us to answer this question. Should we let you, the voters, decide, or should the council decide for you? Only you have the ability to answer this question.

Hope you are paying attention! The decisions we make today will truly impact your future and the future of our great city.

Maggie A. Lewis is president of the Indianapolis City-County Council.

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