No Car. No Problem. (Missed The Bus)

I woke up at 5:40 today and was ready to leave at 6:20. But the bus doesn't come to the area until 6:55-ish, so I decided to sit down on the couch for a minute. Apparently I dozed off. Next thing I know, it's 6:57 a.m. and there' no way I'll make the five-minute walk to the bus stop on time. I jogged down to the bus stop anyway, but by the time I got there at 7:04 the bus was long gone.

So I'm back at home, sitting in my garage. Kinda stuck. I do have a backup plan, though. I have to cover a T board meeting at 4 today on East Lancaster. I think I'll either walk or ride my bike about 3.5 miles south to Beach and Loop 820, where I can catch the T's 23 Mercantile route. That'll get me to the Northside Transfer Center and eventually downtown.

I hope.

Comments

[Jamie]

Gordon,
FYI: Your neighborhood president gave the NCTCOG an earful about one-bus-per-day service to Summerfields last night at the meeting at the ITC. A couple of mid-level people from The T (one from planning and one from community relations) were on hand and were having a conversation with her after the meeting when I left.

[Oscar Trevino]

Gordon,

I have to say that Michael Morris really took the concerns of your HOA President to heart and his office will be meeting with the officers of the HOA and some officials from the T to see what they can do to address her concerns with Mass Transit as well as the impact the North Tarrant Express will have on the neighborhood. Good to see her speaking up for the neighborhood at this public hearing.

Oscar

[Gordon]

Hi Jamie: That's good to know. Seems logical that this area would be a candidate for more bus service, with the booming population and jobs all over the place. Now that I understand a little more how the T functions, I'm starting to wonder why they don't build a transit center somewhere in Alliance/Park Glen/Summerfields. That would at least connect people to the system, and then you could run buses every hour or so.

[Gordon]

Hi Oscar: I wish I'd caught that meeting. Sounds like that's worth a follow-up. The Summerfields Express is getting a decent crowd ... 10-15 riders each trip. That's not bad. Soon, those 25-seat buses may be filled up!

[Jamie]

Gordon,
Oscar's correct. In fact Michael Morris offerred to set up a meeting in the Summerfields area to discuss transportation issues in general including the expansion of 820 how reduce the impact of overflow traffic on neighborhood streets, the possibility of including the area in a future rail transit study as well as increasing bus transit service in the interim. Sounds interesting.