For about three months, I have attended all the East Ridge City Council meetings. During these meetings, I get up and sign in for “My five minutes of fame” to ask the City Council questions or comments.
My special interest is and always has been for the city to have the CARTA Care-A-Van service – door-to-door service for the citizens of East Ridge that are disabled and elderly.
I usually have more than one thing to say or ask the council. At every meeting I ask “where are we in public transportation?” The council has always replied they are working on it with CARTA to see if East Ridge needs to provide buses that offer more routes.
On March 30th, dozens of residents gathered at the Community Center to discuss with CARTA and city officials the future of bus service in East Ridge. A three-year grant that CARTA is using to provide limited bus service to East Ridge through a pilot program is set to expire in August 2018.
The purpose of the meeting was to gather information from people in our city as to their public transportation needs so that CARTA and East Ridge officials may devise a plan going forward to serve the city.
Mayor Brent Lambert said that the Care-A-Van service provided by CARTA seems to be the one “people need most.” He called that service, “a good first step.”
“I feel very good about the possibility of making something happen,” Lambert said.
For those that weren’t able to attend the first meeting, the city and CARTA staff want to give those citizens an opportunity to express their opinions on expanded services to East Ridge.
East Ridge staff has created a Survey Monkey survey, which is accessible on the City’s website, however you can get to the survey at (www.eastridgetn.gov) and other East Ridge social media pages. Here is a direct link to the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ER_CARTA
For those citizens who do not have internet access at home, they are welcome to take the survey at the East Ridge City Library during normal operating hours. For a listing of those hours, call the East Ridge City Library at 423-867-READ (7323) or visit www.eastridgetn.gov.
There are two routes the City is exploring for CARTA service. One route would be East Ridge to Downtown and the other East Ridge to Eastgate. From the Eastgate bus stop, you can connect to other CARTA destinations.
On the Survey Monkey, there are about 10 questions, and only a few questions that asked about the disabled and elderly folks’ need for transportation. In every comment section of the survey after each question, I replied “WE NEED CARE-A-VAN” for door to door transportation.
East Ridge has a growing senior community that will need this service in the future. I can’t help thinking what if I were in a wheelchair and could not afford a custom vehicle to get around town?
You know the saying “put yourself in someone’s shoes” and think about how a disability complicates EVERYTHING you need to survive! How do I get to the doctor appointments, grocery store, pick up prescription medication, and possibly attend a city council meeting now and then?
The survey will be available until July 9, and a workshop will be held on July 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the East Ridge Community Center, which is before the regularly scheduled city council meeting.
CARTA will review the gathered information and discuss pricing and funding options for the additional services. The City will provide the Care-A-Van service for the meeting. Please contact CARTA’s Care-A-Van transit service by calling (423) 698-9038. Residents will need to specify that they live in East Ridge and wish to schedule a shuttle ride to the July 13th workshop/council meeting.
My fear about the online survey is that it may not be reaching those who are poor, elderly or disabled. Some possible CARTA users are those who are poor. The elderly and disabled need the Care-A-Van service as they can’t get to Ringgold Road for regular pick up services.
I guarantee I will continue to be an advocate for the Care-A-Van service even if I have to ask the East Ridge City Council 90 times!
