City Council Hears Citizens Against the Transit Center
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CItizens spoke out against the proposed transit center plan
Citizens came to City Council Chambers, Rochester City Hall tonight to speak their mind regarding the current transit center plans that the RGRTA (Rochester Genesee Regional Transit Authority) have proposed for the Main and Clinton area.
Members of the community including activists,longtime city residents, families with children, transit center activist Andy Stainton, political candidate Harry Davis (Rochester City Council, Independent, South District) and others were in attendance to speak before the Council as approximately a dozen individuals took their pleas to the Rochester City Council and the public.
Although told before speaking that there was no current legislation regarding the issue before City Council presently, the citizens cited various architectural, historical, sociological, environmental, logistical, economical, concerns and even womyn's and crime issues that needed to be aired in this public forum.
Local business owner in the affected Main Clinton area, Mike Picow and his wife Cassie spoke regarding the center. Cassie Picow told of her impromptu survey of womyn waiting for buses at Main and Clinton and of the concerns that they voiced regarding being put underground to transfer. "It just doesn't make sense!" Picow reiterated.
The Raging Grannies got their point across on more than one occasion during the evening with their performance of some new anti-transit center songs.
Council members listened as various sectors of the community expressed their concerns. These included Peter Karagianis, who spoke of the poorly maintained fleet of Regional Transit buses and equipment and problems getting his wheelchair on buses with broken lifts, buses without horns, and buses without working windshield wipers in the RTS bus fleet. Citizens expressed their concerns to a packed City Council Chambers filled with many opponents of the station there in support of the speakers as well as members of the mainstream media.
