Published: September 22, 2008 11:47 pm         

Officials discuss Edmond mass transit

EDMOND — Edmond Mayor Dan O’Neil said the city needs to continue providing mass transit service to its “core” users, but remaining tasks include defining that group and the ultimate shape of the system.

During a Monday afternoon workshop, City Council members heard a report on determining the feasibility of continuing transit services within Edmond and on the most cost effective and efficient service options both for the present and the future.

“We have our work cut out for us,” O’Neil said.

Charles Lamb, Ward 3 council member, said it’s time for the city to explore its options. Mass transit does fill a need in Edmond and the trick will be finding the right formula, Lamb said. The city needs to get the most value for the dollars it spends on mass transit.

“I like moving slowly,” Lamb said.

The city does have a window of opportunity. In July, Edmond signed a contract with the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority to provide transit services for one year.

The $72,000 feasibility study, conducted by LSC Transportation Consultants, recommended that while the contract is in effect the city create a proposed transit agency or restructure existing positions as a supplement.

Once the agency is operational, development of a request for proposals should begin so the city can obtain operating bids from other private operators in the area to determine cost differences from COTPA.

O’Neil and Elizabeth Waner, Ward 2 council member, said the city needs to better define who uses mass transit .

“I don’t know who we’re trying to serve and who it should be,” Waner said.

The preliminary report included a survey, in which 95 percent of respondents said they support continuation of services. Eighty-eight percent said they believe local elected officials support expansion of transit services in Edmond. Nearly 10 percent said they do not support expansion.

Survey respondents said they want enhanced and expanded local transit that is dependable and cost effective. They want more commuter service to Oklahoma City, Norman and Tinker Air Force Base.

O’Neil said he envisions an even greater need with the arrival of a permanent NBA basketball team in Oklahoma City and the recently announced plans for a future Devon Tower in Oklahoma City.

Nearly two-thirds of the respondents, 57 percent, said they would support a tax increase to fund improvements, while 23 percent said they would not support an increase and 20 percent did not know.

Most respondents felt the transit serving Edmond and commuter bus service to Oklahoma City is very poor and unreliable, said Kyle Kosman, senior transportation planner for LSC Transportation Consultants.

Regarding prioritizing services, the biggest need group was seen as the elderly and disabled, followed by low-income residents and commuters.

While there is strong support for continuing and expanding services, the difficulty is providing these services, Kosman said.

Public comment was a part of the report findings, and comments included the need for light rail service to Oklahoma City, improved commuter service to Oklahoma City, transit service geared toward the needs of the transit-dependent and college students that can attract choice riders.

Others said locally there should be a demand-response service for the elderly and disabled with door-to-door service, that there is a need for a “Regional Transit Authority” and that the transit service needs to work on the negative perception related to seeing nearly empty buses.

Currently, the city contracts with Metro Transit in Oklahoma City to provide fixed-route and American with Disabilities para-transit services to Edmond, Kosman said.

Edmond residents use the Eddy Trolley system, the Broncho Bus and express service to Oklahoma City. Kosman said the routes are designed around the general public, the University of Central Oklahoma and a regional route to Oklahoma City.

In 2007, total cost to provide services was nearly $1.2 million annually, according to the report. Ridership is nearly 70,000 annual one-way trips, although one-third is on the Edmond Express Route. Passengers average 5.7 trips per hour.

Shannon Entz, transit study project manager for the city, said possible future steps should include more public comment.



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