There needs to be better public transportation around here. In Columbus, Ohio, we had buses. It wasn't always the most pleasant experience, especially when it was summer, the bus's air-conditioning wasn't working and the person who chose to sit next to you hadn't bathed in a while, or wore way too much perfume. It also wasn't fun when there was standing room only and the women all stood, hanging onto straps while the men all sat and read their newspapers. Still, people who were handicapped had a way to get around. People who didn't have their driver's license had a way to get around and people who just plain didn't want to park in the downtown area had a way to get around. Fort Worth has buses and so does Dallas. Dallas also has the DART train which Stacy likes to take to get to anime conventions. McKinney does not have public transportation and neither does Arlington.
My brother, who lives with us, is mentally retarded. He is unable to drive a car. I have a friend who has a problem with her eyes and cannot drive. There are a lot of people that for various reasons cannot drive a car. These people need public transportation. To me, it seems backwards and barbaric not to have public transportation. This isn't exactly Deadwood or Dodge City.
There is something in McKinney called the C-Cart that handicapped people and senior citizens can take. They used to have two stops in our area and they took both stops away due to lack of money. I see C-Carts every now and then, plugging their way through the streets of McKinney, but I think they only go around the downtown area, which does us and others in our area no good. People like my brother and my friend are stranded.
There are signs around McKinney that said that Money Magazine voted McKinney, Texas to be the 5th best place to live in the country. I'm sure those who voted for that had their own cars and could drive anywhere they wanted to. I think that anyone who would need public transportation would not give McKinney such a high rating. (Also, if they spent a sweltering summer anywhere in Texas like last summer, they wouldn't rate it very high at all.) I think if McKinney really does want to be the 5th best place to live, they need to get a bus system. Now there's the problem of funding. People around here have plenty of money, I see them tooling around in their Mercedes, Hummers, BMW's and Jaguars. I think that they just don't want to pay taxes for bus service because they won't need or use buses, obviously don't know anyone who does and don't care.
Maybe McKinney still thinks of themselves as a small town. If they do, they're not in touch with reality. Urban sprawl has engulfed the area and is spreading outwards to areas like Anna and Farmersville. New housing developments are sprouting like weeds, making less of the beautiful fields, prairies and wooded areas, fracturing wildlife habitats and creating more and more traffic. Buses would help alleviate some of that traffic
My brother used to love to take the C-Cart to the store and on errands. It gave him a sense of independence. It gave him a chance to get out and get around town. That was taken away from him. It was taken away from anybody who cannot drive or afford a car. How would you like to lose your independence? It really upset my brother. They didn't even bother to announce that they were shutting down the route. My brother waited outside in the heat for a bus for a long time. The bus never came. He tried the next day, the bus never came. He went home and called C-Cart and they told him they don't run that route any longer. Surprise.
This area needs to grow up and get in touch with reality. We need public transportation. We need a good marketing plan to sell it to the people who are opposed to it. Everyone deserves a way to get around, everyone deserves to have a little independence. Hopefully, someday, when we have reached beyond the galaxy and discovered wonders beyond the far reaches of outer space, maybe, just maybe, they'll get public transportation around here.
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