TRANSPORTATION REMAINS A HOT TOPIC
Following a presentation of an Open Letter to the Council at their April 22nd meeting, written by Pat Kay and read by a colleague, (Pat is blind) the Township Council announced they would present their decision at this Tuesday's May 6th meeting. Because the April 24 PATCH report of the meeting was so inaccurate, even though the reporter Brenda Stolyar had a copy, it is necessary to make every effort to correct what appears to be considerable misunderstanding, especially when one reads the comments.Thus I am including a copy of the Open Letter to The Council as prepared by Dr. Kay and read by Marvin Schlaffer.
OPEN LETTER TO SOUTH BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP
COUNCIL
Good leadership, like the late Ed Koch, continually asks,
“How am I doing?” Not once in the fourteen years that I have had to rely on
public transportation has anyone asked, “How are we doing? What could we improve? Are there issues we need to address? Is this
the most efficient use of drivers, vehicles or tax-payers dollars?” Just a few
among the questions we had hoped Council would have raised at this month’s
working session, but were not.
Recently, as part of the Aging in
Place Partnership presentation to a working session of the council, I made a major
mistake in assuming that the mayor and
members of the council were aware of the serious transportation problems that
exist in South Brunswick and, knowing the situation, that they cared, at least
enough to discuss an opportunity for improvement. So, I glossed over the real need for the
assistance with a newly donated vehicle and an opportunity to introduce a curb
to curb service for the Township. I hope to remedy my mistake now.
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Why do we need a new curb to curb transportation service in
South Brunswick? Quite simply because
the existing township, county, and private services are not adequate to meet
the needs of seniors and disabled people in our community.Years of research across the country indicate that the main
needs of seniors who cannot drive their own vehicles are for rides to medical
appointments and food shopping. Almost
as important, they need to do general shopping, get haircuts; go to banks,
churches, places where they can take classes or workshops. Some older Americans still work full or part
time and others might if they had a way to get to and from their jobs. Some would like to visit friends, see a
grandchild play soccer, go to a gym to work out or swim in a therapeutic pool
or get a massage, or go see a current movie.
They need to get to government buildings and, sometimes, want to attend
a council meeting, or join a civic organization. A recent survey of South Brunswick seniors
reflect these same needs.
When older Americans are denied access to these kinds of
activities, the world closes in on them and their outlook on life narrows. They become less and less vital members,
unable to contribute to their community and more and more of a burden. It is no wonder that geriatric depression is
so prevalent.
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The South Brunswick township transportation services are lacking
in several important aspects. They might
more aptly be called the Senior Center transportation service. It exists historically and primarily to take
people to and from the center. But even
in that function, it excludes many people who might make greater use of the
center than they now do. The problem is with the schedule. It has not changed in years. Currently, if a senior or disabled person
wants to go to a single class or activity at the center, they must leave their
home at either 8:30 to 9 to arrive at the center between 9 and 9:30 or they can
be prepared to get on the bus any time after 9:30 to arrive at the center
between 10:30 and 11. Sometimes the
buses arrive in time for a class, and sometimes they don’t. Service can be
unreliable and at times non-existent.
Once at the center,
people are literally stranded there until 1:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon when
buses arrive to take them home. That trip may also take up to one hour. For some people, in order to take one class,
they are out of their homes from 8:30 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon. That’s a lot of sitting around waiting.The wait time extends through the lunch period so one must
purchase a meal or bring their own from home. Not too practical for those with
dietary constraints. Now, this schedule appeals to a small number of regulars
but there are many other senior or handicapped residents who do NOT want to hang around the senior
center for hours but would like to take a class and leave at the end of
it. They will not be stuck in a place for
hours at a time when they need or want to be elsewhere. It may come as a shock to some people, but
not all seniors need or want that kind of “assistance.” They have lives of their own outside the
senior center. They are often
volunteering in civic, charitable, cultural, educational, or religious
organizations. They are active,
intelligent, creative, compassionate, friendly people who, for one reason or
another cannot drive themselves to the places they need or want to be.
On a slightly different note, what kind of a township
transportation program does not
take people to that gem in South Brunswick’s crown, the public library? There are many South Brunswick residents who cannot
attend events at the library because they have no way of getting there. Are the programs at the library supposed to
exclude seniors and the handicapped? I
don’t think so.
South Brunswick also lacks any transportation to link
residents to bus, shuttle, or rail that can take them anywhere in the world. The Senior Center’s single attempt to link to
other forms of public transportation requires someone to be on six buses in order
to spend about 40 minutes in a Walmart or other North Brunswick store or to go
to a bakery in Jamesburg. And I, for one, would like to shop in South Brunswick
stores, if I could get there without paying $16.00 each way in a taxi.
About food shopping. South Brunswick buses takes only those who are
members of the senior center shopping one day a week. The buses pick them up at their homes or the
center, take them to a grocery store, wait an hour, and take them home. Shoppers can bring up to three small bags
back on the bus and these must fit on their laps or directly at their feet. Not
too easy if you use a walker. I do not
know anyone who can exist for a week on three bags of groceries. Just think of all the grocery store products
that you use in a week: meats, fish, dairy products, beverages, canned goods,
cereals, grains, baked goods, paper products, cleaning and laundry supplies,
fruits and vegetables, etc. And, what happens if it snows on your day to go
shopping? You wait a week. It’s no
wonder too many of our older residents are malnourished.
The errand run has similar problems. If you have an errand, it must run along
route 27. You will be gone from home from, minimally, four to five hours to
spend one half hour in a single place of your choice. It may be a bank or a dry cleaners or the
Amish Market, but only one of the above and only for a half hour. Most of the time is spent sitting on the bus.
What is it that makes people think that older Americans have nothing to do and
so will accept sitting around for long periods of time?
The transportation that South Brunswick does best is the
medical service, but even there the service is inadequate in that they must
turn down a large number of legitimate requests on the grounds that their
schedule is full. Please know that in criticizing South Brunswick
transportation, I am not finding fault with the employees who deliver the
services. All of the drivers and people
who do scheduling are competent people doing well the jobs they have been hired
to do. They are cheerful, friendly, and
helpful. It is not their fault that the
services are inadequate. The problem appears
to be lack of knowledgeable, committed leadership. Something that does not seem to be found anywhere.
We firmly believe that only through cooperation,
communication, and collaboration can existing transportation problems be
solved. As witness a few years ago, when AIPP worked with the County and the
Township, we were able to bring the first County shuttle service to South
Brunswick. HOWEVER when we tried to
work with Township decision makers to ensure appropriate schedules and connections
would make this a viable service for our seniors, it fell, and continues to
fall, on deaf ears.
With leadership changes at both the county and local levels,
it became abundantly clear that neither the county nor the township were
interested, capable, willing or able to make any changes to address existing
problems. We started discussions of what it would take for a nonprofit
organization to sponsor the needed services. AIPP had not set out to run an
alternate transportation service. But all else had failed. Along with the
experience gained from our earlier attempts and a board member’s meeting with a
Knoxville, TN. non-profit leader of a nationally recognized model for curb to
curb transportation service who serves as our advisor, we prepared to introduce
a similar service in South Brunswick. BUT it cannot be done without your help.
In addition to saving tax payers money, there are a number of
reasons why the township should assist us in this effort. First, for a very small investment, you will
be providing needy residents with transportation services that are not
available to them now. You could not
afford to start this program on your own.
In fact, for the small investment that we are requesting, you will be
able to double the number of trips that the medical van now accomplishes each
week. You do not have the resources to deliver needed services on evenings and
weekends. We can with your support. You cannot serve all disabled workers by
taking them to work. We can make a dent
in that. We can take residents to bus,
shuttle, and rail connections, religious institutions on weekends and evening,
and to the library, movies, classes, the gym, and just to visit a friend or
work in the food pantry for a couple of
hours. It’s time to look at new ways to provide better services.
Most importantly, by helping to provide choices in activities
and transportation, you will be acknowledging that our older and disabled
residents are valued members of the community.
It may restore some sense of independence. It may restore hope to some who have come to
think that nothing can be done.
Our committee has become a VERY
knowledgeable team. We have:·
a
proven track record in identifying qualified volunteer drivers; received
two technical assistance grants from the National Center on Senior
Transportation (NCST) and Easter Seals; worked
with transportation leaders at the State and County as well as National levels; studied
transportation issues for four years;
met with transportation experts who are
running model programs, not only locally, but also around the country;
held
three Transportation workshops/summits to which all transportation leaders in
the county and the township were encouraged to attend; participated in webinars and conference calls,
and read stacks of information about successful programs and how they have
overcome problems.
There are over 12,000+ South Brunswick residents over the age
of 55. Not all of them need
transportation services, but many do and many more will need them in a few
years. This says nothing of those who
are currently driving who really ought not to be. But that’s another project.
You should keep in mind that these 12,000+ constitute about a
quarter of the population. And the one
thing they do not need transportation for is to vote.
Submitted by Pat Kay, April 22, 2104 AgingInPlaceAdvocate@verizon.net.
Pat Kay is currently a member of the Middlesex County Senior
and Handicapped Transportation Advisory Board; and serves on NJ Council of the
Blind and on the Citizens Advisory Board for the NJ State Commission for the
Blind. As a volunteer she co-facilitates the monthly vision loss support group
at the Township’s Senior Center and leads a Native American flute circle at the
Township’s Public Library (she pays to be driven there) and is the Aging in
Place Partnership facilitator for Transportation. An accomplished artist, her
large paintings of flowers have garnered numerous awards throughout the region.
Doctor Kay is a retired professor of Education and Psychology
at City University of New York. The retired coordinator of Botanical Art and
Illustration Program at the New York Botanical Gardens and former member of NY
State Teacher Education Certification and Practices Board.