The editorial “City trolley study gets us nowhere”, the New Era observes the following:
“Financially, the project is a money loser from the get-go….taxpayers dollars—would be needed to pay for the ‘bulk’ of the $14.1 million project…The same study estimated annual operating and administrative costs to be $685,000—less than half of which would be covered by passenger fares and other revenues. What this means, then, is that the Lancaster trolley line is destined to be one more permanent taxpayer subsidy…trolleys, with a network of tracks embedded in the pavement, seem ill-suited for the city’s relatively narrow streets and sharp corners…We have no objection to another trolley study, per se. It’s just that we don’t think the taxpayers should have to pay for it—or a trolley line that can’t pay for itself.”
WATCHDOG: Three wags of the tail! So who is behind this bird brain scheme that would cost tax payers $150,000 to find out what we already know? Deja vu the Convention Center Project about which the New Era initially expressed skepticism and for which Mayor Rick Gray requested a feasibility study and then ignored it.
Well, well, well………..the New Era editorial of 8/25 rants about using $20,000 of public dollars to continue a study on the trolley system….when the initial concensus was that it won’t work and will end up costing the taxpayers……..where was this line of thinking when the hotel/convention center had the same initial response??? I guess it all come down to who’s pockets are going to be lined by the public. Unbeleivably arrogant, hypocritical and self-serving!!!!!!!!!!
What seems to really make me irate, is the fact that we don’t need a study to know if its not feasible. When I first heard about the idea of a trolley in Lancaster, it took me all of 30 seconds to know that it is a really bad idea. And then on top of that, they want to use our tax money to study it? Are they that out of touch with reality? These are our elected officials that are supposed to be taking care of our city?
Now, maybe I’m wrong, but I am assuming that some of them still drive a car through this town right? It only takes a few trips around Lancaster in a car to know that having a trolley would only slow down traffic, cause more headaches on the road than we already have. Some things just AREN’T about money.
Why do our public officials keep spending our money for things most of us already know are a bad idea?