Transportation
The Issue:
Our transportation system doesn’t work for too many people in our community. It is near impossible to get around Onondaga County unless you own a car. If you work late nights or off hours, getting to work via public transportation is irrational. Unless you live in one of a small handful of neighborhoods with adequate sidewalks, simply going for a walk can be dangerous. We need to take meaningful steps to improve our transportation system by giving people more and better options to move around our community.
Solutions:
Syracuse needs Bus Rapid Transit. Also known as BRT, this new approach to public transit improves bus service by increasing its frequency, improving station stops, making the buses faster, and adding service on nights and weekends.
As the chair of Uplift Syracuse’s Transportation Committee, I oversaw the creation of “Better Bus Service,” a plan to improve public transportation in Syracuse. We identified 8 major corridors where BRT could work in Onondaga County, and we outlined simple, practical, cost-effective measures to build the public transit system our community needs and deserves
Committing to a truly walkable, bike-able community.
Too many streets in our community are too dangerous for people on foot. So many places where plenty of people walk lack sidewalks, crosswalks, and crossing signals. This is unacceptable. Walking is the most basic way people get around—everybody’s a pedestrian at some point—and every street, road, avenue, and boulevard in our County should be safe for people on foot.
People also need better bike routes. We should build on successes like the Creekwalk and Erie Canal Trail that connect communities and provide opportunities for recreation, and we should also make streets safe for everybody who uses them.