Page 2
LOCAL
The Kings Mountain Herald
July 10, 2008
Public Transportation becomes higher priority for commuters
REBECCA PISCOPO -
rea ek mee com
Approximately 6,000 cars
burn fuel out of Cleveland
County into - “Gaston and
Charlotte everyday. That is
~ according to Executive Director
Tom Crider of the
Transportation Authority of
Cleveland County (TACC).
‘The national average for rural
states is four dollars. As point-
ed out in The New York Times
article “Rural U.S. Takes Worst
Hit as Gas tops $4 Average”
from June 9, the sights of trucks
abandonedly parked on road
sides, some of which require-
fewer than ten miles a gallon,
are becoming signs of the time.
In Gaston County Bill Gary at
the Chamber Business
Development said, “We have
heard some businesses are giv-
ing their workers stipends.
Also, telecommuting from
home has become more of an
option for white collar work-
ers.”
“The state now pays 50 cents
a mile, then it costs you 65
cents. "It’s $30 to get ‘to
Charlotte,” Crider said.
Whether lawyer or manufac-
turer, men and women are
burning their wages to work.
CATS Vanpool
While most of us are spend-
ing hundreds a month in gaso-
line consumption, Benjamin
Roberts, of Kings Mountain,
~~ spends no more than $52.50 a
"month. Five fellow Norfolk
Southern Railroad welders from
Spartanburg, SC pick him up in
a pre-determined meeting place
every work morning.
They are the fourth group to
join the Charlotte Area Transit
System (CATS) “Vanpool” pro-
gram. In one vehicle there can
be nine to 15 passengers. The
website says, “CATS covers the
cost of gas, maintenance, -insur-
ance, and the Guaranteed Ride
Home program.”
There is also a smaller service
called “Minivan Program”
which consists of four to seven
passengers. Both programs are
meant to tailor to the schedule
of each groups’ needs as far as
pick-up and drop-off times. As
they do at work, all of Roberts’
co-workers take turns driving
the 165-mile round trip.
~ “Gas in the vanpool is decid-
ed by mileage between riders,”
Roberts said. “My position is to
collect all the gas money from
each guy and write bill state-
ments to CATS.”
If an emergency happens,
CATS provides two free cab
rides a month. They don’t spill
over into the next month if one
of the travel-members doesn’t
use theirs.
“The system works well
when you have people working
at the same place. It saves
money per month,” Roberts
stated.
The one negative for Roberts
is that he has to arrive home a
little later because people have
to be dropped off.
Interested commuters can log
onto the CATS website and go
to the vanpool calculator in
which they can determine the
cost per person. Right now
there are six to seven vans and
42 people on a Vanpool waiting
list.
Roberts says,”My wife drives
36 miles round-trip to Gastonia.
Gas prices and everything are
going up. It’s gonna be really
bad when people can’t afford to
go to work.”
A KM link to light rail?
In November 2001 a Transit
Study was presented by the
Urban Land Institute and
Business Community for
Regional Studies. They suggest-
ed the study of five major corri-
dors to Charlotte. ULI looked
into Gaston, North
Mecklenberg, Cabarrus,
Cleveland, and York (SC) coun-
ties.
Plans for Cleveland were cat-
egorized under the West
Corridor. It aimed to “link to the
rail terminus in Kings
Mountain.”
The study continued in the
hands of a Gaston Transit Study
and Lake Norman Rural
Planning Organization led by
planner and transportation
manager, Bjorn Hansen.
“The Gaston MPO did a
major investment study looking
at some sort of transit to
Gastonia which did not go all
the way to Cleveland County,”
said Hansen.
- However multiple studies,
mainly the “Gastonia Transit
Expansion Study,” include
Kings Mountain because it sits
on the border of Gaston and
Cleveland. The later above
mentioned document stated,
“Kings Mountain could be a
destination for express service.”
But such is talk.
“There’s nothing right now
I'm aware of with money
behind it going West of
Charlotte. We (Lake Norman
RPO) want to show bus service
before a fixed light rail,” said
Hansen.
Although TACC, non-profit
transportation organization in
Shelby, provides daily van rides
to Charlotte and Gastonia. It’s
mostly for senior citizens who
need to make appointments.
“We're getting a higher
demand from younger people
who want new means of trans-
portation,” Crider said.
While the West Corridor men-
tioned expansion to Kings
Mountain, Crider states that the
Cleveland Transportation
Partnership hasn't been meet-
ing until, according to Crider, a
recent kick-off conference.
“There has been a problem
with membership so there has-
n't been representation enough
to the Lake Norman RPO. And
the West Corridor died because
no one thought it was possible,”
Hansen said.
They are starting again, and
Crider is writing a grant request
from the County to the state for
more public traveling funds. He
states that it will not be enough
to produce a lot of transporta-
tion, but it is a beginning seed.
He'd like to see something on
the road, assuming the grant
goes through, by next January
or February.
He is thinking about a van
which would act as a transfer to
the Gastonia transit which goes
into Charlotte. Riders would
have to pay a fair, but they can
buy a weekly or monthly
voucher. If a van plan succeeds,
Crider hopes that a reduction-
transfer fee can be provided to
riders who go from Kings
Mountain to Gastonia.
“I don’t think Charlotte and
Gaston County plan to come
here so we have to go to them,”
Crider said.
“A fundamental transforma-
tion in this country is going to
take place,” Gary said.
NC has a 2009-2015 plan to
improve travel. By means of
trains, bikes, and buses there
are 510 projects statewide. The
overall expenditure is more
than $13 billion dollars.
“Rural U.S Takes Worst Hit as
Gas Tops $4 average” from The
New York Times also stated that
families in the rural Southeast
are spending almost as much on
fuel as for groceries. Perhaps a
bus voucher or vanpool could
now be the new meaning of
keeping food on the families
plate.
KM YMCA working toward $3.6 million renovations
Ride with the best
motorcycle coverage
on the planet.
REBECCA PISCOPO
rdickinson@kingsmountainherald.com
The Kings Mountain YMCA
has a $3.6 million plan set for
renovations. Y Executive
Director David Ozmore says
that his team is in the process
of working on a contract with
- the city, which provides a
framework to continue their
partnership for 20 years. The
family and sports-oriented
facility offer to maintain the
annual stipend of $300,000
from KM for their program.
The catch for the Y to con-
tinue the same pricing is that
KM has to split renovation
payment.
The mission, originally plot-
ted in December 2007, was
presented to Mayor Rick
Murphrey in March then to
council in May, but the city
ruled that there wasn’t
enough room in the ‘08 budg-
et. To begin production,
Ozmore hopes that council
will have room next May.
“It’s (the renovation plans)
working through all of the
right channels,” Ozmore said.
Of the top featured changes
is a water park. It will be in
addition to the current pool.
“We will remove the current
baby pool and build the ‘zero
depth’ entry pool to include a
large slide, dumping buckets,
sprays, mushrooms, baby
bungee, etc.,” added Ozmore.
The hope is to still teach
swim lessons and have recre-
ational swim in the large pool.
“We will also serve many
more small children and fami-
lies in the addition,” Ozmore
stated.
In the next three weeks,
Ozmore plans to meet and:
work with with the city man-
“ager and lawyer. He feels that
both parties are comfortable
with the spirit of the contract,
and that the city likes what
the Y has done in the past.
THANKS for Making Us
#1 in North Carolina.
John Caveny
210 East King Street
Kings Mountain
739-3953
cavenyj@nationwide.com
We Support the NC State Highway Patrol Caisson Unit
Contact us for
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