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17,377 riders use Mammoth public transit in January |
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Thursday, 06 March 2008 |
By Lara Kirkner
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 While transit numbers on public vehicles are growing all the time, some drivers still need to be trained on how to help disabled patrons. At last week’s Mobility Commission meeting, Commissioner Terry Smutney reported that a disabled visitor had been unable to board the Dial-a-Ride bus because the driver did not know what his mono ski was.MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTO/SUSAN MORNING
Manning reported 3,102 riders on Dial-a-Ride, 4,034 riders on the Winter LIFT, and 10,227 riders on the Dinner Trolley.
“We were unable to run for three days in January because of storms,” Manning said, to explain why the numbers for Dial-a-Ride and the Winter LIFT were down slightly from December’s numbers. Dial-a-Ride had 3,157 riders in December and the Winter LIFT had 4,745.
The Commission agreed that these numbers were a step in the right direction, but as Commissioner Terry Smutney pointed out, public transportation education for both riders and drivers still needs to get out there, especially when it comes to the physically disabled visitors or locals in town. Smutney reported that a disabled man who had come to visit was unable to board a Dial-a-Ride bus because he had a mono ski with him. The driver did not know what the contraption was and would not let the man board.
Manning couldn’t understand what the problem could have been, since when you call Dial-a-Ride you essentially have the bus to yourself, but said he would look into the incident further.
Still being a relatively new commission, the members then spent some time getting caught up to speed on the budget, the Clearwater project and the Old Mammoth Road District Plan, and the Town’s current document on how to become a destination resort through community and economic development. The document will be delved into more deeply through a steering committee that Town staff is compiling. The committee will be made up of members from every commission as well as a few community members to be chosen by the Town.
Lastly, the Commission heard from Mammoth Lakes Fire Department Fire Marshal and Division Chief Thom Heller. Right off the bat, the Commission hopes to develop good relationships with agencies such as the fire department in order to work closely with them on planning the town’s mobility future. Heller presented the Commission with the issues, opportunities and constraints regarding mobility that the fire department is facing now and predicts they will be facing in the future.
Heller explained that while the fire department was not against development in town, they do believe coordinated and consistent developments are needed.
Heller quickly went over several roads that the fire department is looking at either to extend at some point, like Sierra Park Road to Chateau Road, and others that have connection problems such as Waterford. He also pointed out that Old Mammoth Road is already too crowded for a fire department vehicle at this time, and was concerned that changes made to the road when the Clearwater development is built will only complicate those problems. He asked the Commission to keep in mind this major obstacle.
"At this point the fire department doesn't even use Old Mammoth Road because the traffic becomes too confused," he stated. "No one has enough room to get out of the way so we waste time waiting for things to get worked out."
Using side streets not built to accommodate large fire apparatus, however, is not always a better option.
These are just a few of the items that the fire department hopes to work on with the Commission in the future to improve the town's mobility for everyone.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 13 March 2008 )
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