COPTA announced "transit plan"
I'm not sure what's worse, COTPA calling this a "plan" or the Journal Record dating this article Sept. 24 when it was published Sept. 22nd.
Officials unveil OKC metro mass transit plan
September 24, 2007
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority has released its comprehensive transportation plan for the Oklahoma City area, revealing shortfalls in both funding and mass transit routes to major employment zones.“Most cities in the region have not yet grasped the value of public transportation, and so they do not fund it,” the report concluded, noting that only Midwest City, Edmond and Oklahoma City fund bus and paratransit services.“The lack of local dedicated funding for operating expenses, such as a one-fourth penny sales tax or a small property millage, results in minimal transit service in the Oklahoma City Urban Area,” the report states. “This lack of stable funding has an even greater impact on households having people with disabilities, older adults, or low-income people.”
In April, the authority started inviting the public and organizations to form an advisory committee for the coordinated planning process. The authority prepared the plan in order to secure federal funding; similar plans will be formed in Tulsa and for the full state. Among the issues the committee discussed was how Oklahoma City’s mass-transit operating funds compared with peer regions. “Our region’s cities and counties invest only one-fifth to one-sixth the average amount,” the report states. The metro area spends $10.58 per service area resident for public transit versus an average of $59.14 with cities including Austin, Texas; Denver; Kansas City, Mo.; and Tucson, Ariz.
And although the sprawling Oklahoma City metro area is one of the largest in the country by land area, the report says the actual region being served by mass transit has a higher population density than Austin, Denver, Fort Worth, Texas; Kansas City and Little Rock, Ark. For fiscal year 2008, Metro Transit’s operating budget is $20.1 million, about half of which comes from Oklahoma City. A one-fourth penny sales tax levied in the municipality by itself would generate about $25 million more, and double that if the tax was approved for the full-service area.
The plan also outlined several issues that need to be addressed, including services to areas of high employment. For example, it would be beneficial to extend transit service hours from Penn Square Mall and Classen Boulevard in northwestern Oklahoma City to Broadway Extension “in order to help low-income people … retain their jobs,” the plan says. “These people are having a difficult time reaching their jobs on time as well as coming back to their homes with the existing Metro Transit services.”
The report also says the southwest part of Oklahoma City is not accessible by means of public transportation. “Many homeless and low-income people are not able to accept employment from employers in the periphery of Oklahoma and Canadian counties, as buses do not run in those areas,” the report states. To increase funding overall, the plan proposes several strategies, including the formation of a dedicated funding source through sales tax or property tax, or encouraging the inclusion of transportation projects in the expected third iteration of the Metro Area Projects, or MAPS-3, sales tax initiative.
The plan also proposed tapping into private business. “Approach major employers in the private sector to create partnerships,” the plan says. “Point out tax deductions and future state tax credits that might be possible.”The plan will be updated every two years to reflect how community priorities change or different strategies are needed.
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