Neary-Sighted

Tuesday evening Update: Whooops, had the wrong time in the original post. the meeting is 6 p.m. on the 23rd

The Lakewood City Council heard from Pierce Transit this past Monday, and once again, there's news to share. The news is not good. Because of a big drop in sales tax collections, which count for three-quarters of their budget, Pierce Transit is apparently looking at some huge budget cuts and huge reductions in service within the next few years.

Glancing over the information, it looks like rural areas take the most 'hits' although there's a big ugly dead spot on their map over Steilacoom too. This story out of East Pierce County has a lot of detail. If you ride the bus or want to help someone who does it would behoove you to get smart on the potential cuts and make noise. Pierce Transit has what looks like a pretty informative website at http://www.pttomorrow.org/ and then they say there will be an insert in The News Tribune tomorrow (Wednesday) with a lot of information.

They are planning several public meetings, the first of which will be in Lakewood from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on March 23 at the Pierce Transit Training Center 3720 96th St SW - over by South Tacoma Way.

I'd like you to tell me how you see these changes affecting you. I used to ride public transit to get to a job in Seattle, and I know how important these services are. On a very broad scale, we heard:

- Many routes that currently run every 15 to 30 minutes will go to running every 60.
- The number of routes could drop from 51 to 23.
- Service will drop from 622,000 to 265,000 hours.

I can only say I am sure glad I am not on the Pierce Transit Board. There are tough decisions ahead. I hope you feel empowered to weigh in.
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