The route closest to my home is the #1 Eddy Street line. I will only have to walk an extra six blocks or so (which is no big whoop for me), but anyone who might be going to or coming from the Gaspee Plateau or up Post Road to Ann & Hope just down from the airport will be screwed because the #1 buses are slated to end at the Providence/Cranston city line.
Get the picture, folks?
The key to the entire RIPTA dilemma has to do with the ass-backwards way that we fund the public transit system. The formulation is nearly elegant in its stupidity — when more people take the bus, fewer automobiles are on the road — and isn't that one of the reasons for promoting bus ridership? But fewer automobiles on the road means less revenue from gas taxes, which means less money in the budget for RIPTA. Satan couldn't have devised a better scheme to destroy the key element of mass transportation — the bus.
If you think there is something wrong with this picture, here is where and when the 10 public hearings being held by RIPTA are taking place (each venue will hold two hearings, from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8 pm):
Tuesday, July 26, at Newport City Hall in the Council Chambers, 43 Broadway, Newport; Wednesday, July 27, at the Burnside Building, 400 Hope Street, Bristol; Thursday, July 28, at Warwick City Hall in the Council Chambers, 3275 Post Road, Warwick; Monday, August 1, at the University of Rhode Island, Feinstein Providence Campus Auditorium, 80 Washington Street, Providence; and Tuesday, August 2, at Narragansett Town Hall in the Assembly Room, 25 Fifth Avenue, Narragansett.
It's time to stop this bullshit!
A FEW WORDS ABOUT SOME OTHER CHOICE TOPICS . . .
. . . Dean Esserman is guilty of . . . what? Having an unpleasant personality? He did actually make lots of positive changes in the Providence Police force, changes that were sorely needed. I guess all Providence deserves is Rhodes scholars like Barney Prignano.
. . . It's not so much that the civil unions bill was "half a loaf." It was an insult to our intelligence. And when did Gordon Fox (someone I've always liked) become just another elected official who cuts deals? Here's my idea: Make all unions civil unions. No civil "marriages" for anybody — marriage is something that belongs in the realm of religious institutions and not the state.
. . . RIP, Larry Kruger.
. . . And finally (you knew it was coming), catch Phoebe Legere with Rudy Cheeks & Friends at their Sound Session show at the Roots Café, 276 Westminster Street, Providence, on Saturday, July 9 at 9:45 pm. Completely new, completely different — experience Ms. Phoebe & company. C'est magnifique!
Send sunscreen and Pulitzer-grade tips torudycheeks@live.com.
