From PHCA President Carol Martz:
My last email was an announcement about Cleanup Day. It mistakenly stated that workers were needed to load the trucks. This is not so–county workers do that. We just need a few volunteers to direct traffic and collect dues. If you can help, just show up — stay as short or long a time as you wish.
As you know, PHCA’s next meeting is on May 4. Supervisor Foust will speak and take questions at that meeting.
Our May meeting is also our meeting for nominating members for next year’s Board. We will have at least two vacancies for next year. Lisa Gibbs is stepping down as secretary, and Linda Wheeler is stepping down as VP.
Are you willing to serve? It requires a relatively small amount of time and energy. Our new meeting has made it more doable for everyone. Please consider it — have someone nominate you or come to the meeting and volunteer.
And another announcement — Metro is trying to discontinue the 3T in 2011. We need to fight this. More about this at the meeting.
Here is a message from the Coalition for Smarter Growth. You can make a difference by sending a letter to Metro.
Ask Virginia’s Leaders To Save Metro Service
Time is running out – Metro service cuts may soon be a reality. Our leaders can stop these service cuts by committing more funding to Metro. Virginia local officials have made room in their tax rates to provide extra funding for Metro, but they haven’t yet actually voted on their budgets, so we need you to keep emailing. The proposed service cuts include:
• Ending Yellow line service to National Airport on evenings and weekends
• Slashing bus service throughout the system
• Closing Metro earlier and opening later
• Closing some Metro station entrances on weekends and evenings
• Imposing half hour waits between trains during the evening
• Eliminating 8-car trains, even during rush hour
We need your help to stop these drastic cuts. Send an email to Virginia local elected officials thanking them for considering more Metro funding and urging them to prevent these devastating cuts. Metro is a basic and essential service for the region’s economy. Emails will also automatically be sent to the Metro board.
Public support for Metro is overwhelming. Just yesterday, the Washington Post released a poll showing that a clear majority of Metro area residents support new funding sources for Metro. Eighty percent of Metrorail riders rate the system as good or excellent. Sixty-two percent said that efforts to reduce traffic congestion should focus on public transportation.
We’ve already submitted more than 2,000 petition signatures and 1,200 emails to leaders in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, but we need all we can get. Please email your elected officials one more time.
The cuts that Metro is facing – detailed here – would not just be inconvenient, they would be devastating. Cuts combined with fare increases will increase traffic on area highways costing more time and money and hurting local businesses and the economy. Failing to fund the basic operating needs of Metro would be penny wise and pound foolish.Those who are 100% dependent on transit to get to work could lose their jobs if they lose the ability to get to work. Cuts could also endanger private commitment to transit-oriented development (TOD) just when area officials have joined us in recognizing that TOD is the best way to save open space, reduce traffic, increase energy efficiency and maintain our competitiveness.
We recognize that all governments are strapped for money, but letting Metro service fall to below minimal levels – on top of charging riders higher fares – makes no sense. Instead of abandoning the system that we spent billions of dollars to create, we need to maintain it. Email your elected official today and remind them that Metro is still the best and safest ride around. Tell them what Metro means to you and ask for their leadership in supporting the necessary funding for Metro.
Thank you for your passionate support of our Metro system!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Perring
Coalition for Smarter Growth
action@smartergrowth.net
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