(Oh yeah! I’m excited for a season of common sense solutions finding their voice via great GRP candidates. Pay attention, Democrats. Listen up, Republicans. Take some notes, Libertarians… STEAL OUR IDEAS! – promoted by eli_beckerman)
I support an effective public transportation system centered on the residential, employment, and business corridors of Berkshire County. Employers tell me that for many workers and job-seekers, reliance on a private automobile and the lack of other options prevents people from gaining employment, getting to work, and can cause disruption other workers’ schedules when something goes wrong. Individuals tell me that for many of them a private automobile is a major debt-inducing financial burden. We all know that encouraging use of public transportation is good for the environment and for lowering our carbon footprint.
Clearly, Americans are re-thinking their relationship with the car. It’s seldom as advertised.
Two years ago my husband and I went from being a two-car family to a one-car family. Our local public transportation network allowed us to do that. As I began using the system regularly I applied to the Lenox Select Committee, which then appointed me to represent the town on the system’s board. This system, the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, will benefit from a study conducted last year by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, which advised it on developing revised routes and schedules in order transport residents and visitors to employment, business, cultural, and retail centers – where they needed to go and when they needed to go there. This study was long overdue because employment, shopping, and residential patterns had shifted considerably since the last comprehensive analysis of the system.
The study and planning is only the beginning. The funding ahd legislative championing makes it happen.
A public transportation network is a key infrastructure component for healthy, green, and forward-looking communities. When elected to the 4th Berkshire District State Representative seat this year, I will be a loud and strong advocate for public transportation.
For more information on my campaign, please visit:
http://www.scottlaugenour.org