RTA Hearing? Any notes from it?

[Phil Florian]

I couldn't get out of work and another appointment in time to attend the meeting tonight but if the showing was as vocal as the Mayor's meeting last week, we would have been well represented. Just curious if anyone went and had some feedback.

Thanks,

Phil

[sharon kinsella]

I thought it was tonight.

I can't believe I'd write that down wrong.

Going to explore now.

[sharon kinsella]

Even I can't believe I did that. I missed it and I had plannned on going.

[Bret Callentine]

there are still a few more hearings scheduled if you would like to participate.

I went last night, and it was quite a show. Following a short presentation from RTA, most of the west side mayors stood up and gave their opinions. (Kudos to Fitzgerald who stole the show in that particular category) Then we got a few words from Dennis Kucinich. Then a steady stream of disgruntled customers took the microphone to give their opinions on the prospect of losing routes and increasing fees.

As you might imagine, it was not a plesent evening for Mr. Calabrese.

My particular opinion is that the whole thing is just a big political sham, as RTA hopes that all the people present will help them put enough pressure on Columbus to obtain more state funding, and if not, they'll use the passionate pleas as an excuse to try and raise some new tax levy to bail them out.

Lots of politicians got some good face time in front of the camera, but in the end, I'm skeptical as to whether or not the experience was positive for the community.

[Bill Call]

My particular opinion is that the whole thing is just a big political sham, as RTA hopes that all the people present will help them put enough pressure on Columbus to obtain more state funding, and if not, they'll use the passionate pleas as an excuse to try and raise some new tax levy to bail them out.

Brilliant! aka, I agree

How much has been spent on the waterfront line?
How much has been spent on the Euclid Corridor project?

[Phil Florian]

Brett, what is the "sham" part of this? I didn't see sham in what you posted about this event. Is the sham that the RTA has already made up its mind and this was just theater? Just curious. If RTA uses these meetings to go to Columbus with public testimony on how important this is, then it hardly seems sham-like to me. Maybe RTA would do better to encourage participation by saying something along the lines of "we are all in this together" and hope people get involved but if there is one constant in public involvement in things like this, it takes the threat of lost services to motivate involvement. If RTA held a hearing saying "we need to talk" and left it at that, would people have shown up in the numbers they did with as much passion? I doubt it. Just a thought.

Glad we were represented last night. I happened to run into the Mayor while I was at City Hall this morning and he took a minute to chat about it (thanks, btw!) and he made it sound like Lakewood was well represented by numbers, too. Maybe half the audience or so? That's pretty good attendance. The PD had an article about it today and it is too bad that they had a picture of a Westlake resident as the face of it in the paper. I grew up in Westlake (so I don't feel bad saying this) and I am sure they will miss some of the bus services but no one thinks "need for RTA" and "Westlake" in the same thought. Lakewood or Cleveland or Cleveland Heights residents seem a better match for that. I worry people seeing a rich suburb's resident's picture will make people think, "eh, what's the big deal?"

[Bret Callentine]

sorry Phil, I should have elaborated more (and actually, I'm working on doing so for my next article).

The biggest sham to me, was Mr. Calabrese standing before a room of people who pay his very salary and admitting that he has been "very in-effective" in his position.

Now, perhaps I'm mistaken, but if you went up to your boss and said, "look, I havn't been able to do my job, so you should really ask me to do less and, oh, by the way, I'll need more money." I don't think you would still be employed for long.

When it came time for me to speak (had to wait until almost 9pm) I gave them several ideas of my own on how to save money, then, quoting his own evaluation of his performance, looked him square in the eyes and told him that he should at least do the honorable thing and resign his position to make room for someone who CAN get the job done.

The sham isn't that they are in financial trouble, it's that they gloss over the real reasons for the trouble (mismanagement, poor financial planning), then conveniently step aside and force hard working citizens to bail them out of their poor choices and leadership.

The sham is that the one industry that should have been poised to take advantage of the increase in fuel prices might just be the first casualty.

I truly can't tell you wether or not they have already made up their mind regarding the cutbacks they propose, but I CAN tell you that they appeared completely disinterested in most of what came out of the event.

[Ahmie Yeung]

Keep up the good fight, Bret. I think blame for the current troubles is wide-spread and no one has a monopoly on it (plenty of us don't use RTA nearly as much as we could and probably should, politicians who harp on obtaining more oil instead of real immediate things that could lower demand such as really pushing people to take public transit, and mismanagement of RTA on various levels - having been very nearly been run over by their buses several times as a CWRU student, I don't have a big love for the brand or the way that manage their employees - the person driving that particular route back then at least was the most aggressive driver on the road most of the time). I don't use RTA much for various reasons (small children and difficulty climbing stairs being the primary ones) but I want it to be there for my kids when they're old enough to travel independently and for my neighbors who rely on it to get where they need to go.

[Donald Farris]

Hi,
Did any of the RTA presenters say when and how often they use RTA? I just can't picture them actually using the services they are responsible to manage.

It should be part of their job descriptions that they have to use RTA for transportation if traveling where it runs. Did anyone suggest this?

[Phil Florian]

Hi,
Did any of the RTA presenters say when and how often they use RTA? I just can't picture them actually using the services they are responsible to manage.

It should be part of their job descriptions that they have to use RTA for transportation if traveling where it runs. Did anyone suggest this?

This is very Michael Moore-ish. In a good way, of course. He challenged various CEO's to do a simple bit of what their company does. A computer company guy was asked to format a diskette (remember doing that??) and so on. The only guy that responded and completed it was an auto company exec (Ford? Can't remember) who was asked to change the oil in a car and he could and did.

But you are right, they probably don't use it. I have to wonder if they even live near an RTA stop? That isn't as big a deal, though. To be short sighted to not realize that the RTA is on the cusp of great potential growth with gas prices soaring and more people looking to leave greener and so on. To throw the baby out with the bathwater is just inane. Why have any RTA services at all with the cuts they are making? I think it is time for new management. This could be just the excuse they need, too.

[Phil Florian]

Good news so far or at the very least a stay of execution. Looks like public mobilization can still work. Here is the link to the article:

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/st ... xml&coll=2

Looks like a bail out is in play. What needs to then happen is replacing management with someone who can run a business. Or put the "bus" in business. Or something like that. I think there is clearly a market and a need for public transportation but that doesn't mean it has to be run like a governement agency.