Today’s Bus Party had 5 attendees including two new bus partiers that heard about us at the CR Transit study open house. We rode the last of the 5′s and went through the southern, mostly residential, area of Marion, out to the Marion Wal-mart again, and back along 7th Ave/1st Ave.
We discussed a variety of non bus related topics including local politics, but among the bus discussions were accessibility issues, a common complaint brought up at the open house. Since the snow flurries started this morning, we talked about the poor snow removal at bus stops and how it can be dangerous waiting for a bus on top of a snow bank (for those who can climb them), or waiting in a driveway or partially in the street as a last resort. Who should be responsible for clearing the stops? What is the best way to maintain the stops since we frequently get days with continual snow, requiring several rounds of re-clearing stops? Could there be a reporting system to flag stops with unacceptable access? These were new topics during a bus party, and it was great to hear new input.
Afterwards, a few of us decided to grab a quick bite at Dublin City on 1st St. downtown. Warm, tasty food “with just the right amount of grease” as one bus partier put it.
See you in November for Route 6!
Tags: bus party, cedar rapids, Marion, route 5S
