Frank Wilson: Metro makes Houston livable
You know, Metro's really raking in the dough these days. Lots and lots of tax revenue. The problem is Metro has to dedicate a large portion of that money to the Danger Train and its planned offspring, so other parts of the Metro empire suffer.
Such as customer service. Still. And again. (Will someone either ask for a definition of Metro Time or buy Metro a clock?)
Such as bus service and bus stops:
Thanks to a Montrose restaurant owner and various community groups, the Metropolitan Transit Authority is bringing back its adopt-a-stop and adopt-a-shelter programs, which can help curb crime at Houston bus stops.
The program, which died a few years ago because of a lack of interest, was revived in the fall when Dimitrios Fetokakis, owner of Niko Niko's Greek and American Café at 2520 Montrose, called Houston District D City Councilwoman Ada Edwards to complain about criminal activity at the bus stop across from his business.
"My employees were afraid to walk across the street where we park our employee cars," he said. "It just doesn't look good when we have customers sitting on the patio and they see drug deals."
Fetokakis said there were also problems with trash and prostitution.
[snip]
"Every time I drive by a bus stop, the trash is always full, there's graffiti on the bus stops, it's just time for the bus stops to be fixed. They look very old," Carson said. "When it comes to crime, we know some of the issues we have in Hyde Park also coincide with some of the issues we have at the bus stops.
Nice. Who needs security? Look how well things have worked out at the Park and Rides. And don't forget Metro's suggestion that bus riders who are worried about safety can take advantage of Texas' concealed carry law.
However, as Laurence Simon points out, there is one area where Metro has decided to spend a little money -- a blogger. At least I'm assuming former Chron reporter Mary Sit isn't working for free.
Back in October, Metro boss Frank Wilson said, "“If Houston didn't have METRO, it would cease to be a livable city.” Some might argue that Houston already lost some of its livability once Metro began focusing on light rail.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/28/06 06:03 PM | Houston Transit | Print | Comments (6)
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