A Message from Mayor Ed FitzGerald
about Proposed RTA Cuts
RTA is considering eliminating the community circulators throughout the region. We need your help to save the #804 Community Circulator in Lakewood.
RTA must take immediate action in response to an expected $5.5 Million deficit in their budget. At an emergency board meeting that took place yesterday, RTA announced that they intend to eliminate the circulators or raise fares (or a combination of both) to address the budget gap.
This time last year, RTA proposed similar cuts to offset rising fuel costs. While a number of communities saw service eliminations, I joined many Lakewood residents who fought successfully to save Lakewood's Community Circulator.
Lakewood's Community Circulator is the most used circulator in the RTA system. More than 40,000 riders use the circulator every month to get to work, school, shopping and home. In addition to providing a convenient service to many, the circulator is also the only transportation option for many of Lakewood's residents, including children that use the circulator to get to school, and seniors that rely on it to get around.
RTA is going to make a decision very soon. We need your help today. Whether you use RTA or not, please respond to this email and tell us how important the circulator is to Lakewood. We'll gather all of your responses and bring them to RTA.
Let's save the circulator again! Thank you again for your support.
Sincerely,
Ed Fitzgerald
Respond here: commrel@lakewoodoh.net