Political, Community Leaders Need to
Realize Benefits of Encouraging Better Transit System in
Lowering Unemployment, Creating Jobs
By: Keith H. Seymour
Recently,
I attended a Columbia City Council Meeting, where the theme of this
meeting, and all of the presentations, had to deal with “Columbia's
Economic Development.” As I sat there in that meeting for over four
hours I heard the City of Columbia praising and encouraging every
civic and business leader in the room in the area of bringing various
groups to the table to discuss the “Economic Development of this
City. Upon being given my chance to speak, I stated my total
disgust with City Council for not considering those involved with
public transit in Columbia, important enough to be include in any of
these discussions. Now, I realize that someone reading this might
wonder what having a a viable bus system has to do with the
positive development of Columbia's economic development. So, I am
going to put it in perspective by pointing out a few facts and some
common sense conclusions.
At
the this very same meeting, when addressing the economic importance
of mentor programs such
as
“My Brother's Keeper,” existing in the Columbia Ar Ea,
Councilwoman Devine pointed out that
African-American
males in Columbia have more than a 20% unemployment rate, which
is”higher than the state average of 17%. In addition to this,
shortly before Councilwoman Devine made this statement, Councilmen
Runyon and Boudouragh, and City Manager Wilson were discussing the
possibility of keeping the emergency homeless shelter open for an
“additional' forty five days. Several minutes was spent on the
increasing homeless problem in our area.
It
does not take a genius to figure out that if a better transit
existed, therefore allowing more people to be employed, and others to
have access to better jobs, in addition to more discretionary income
being spent on restaurants and entertainment venue, more people would
be employed. Lower unemployment has the potential to lower
homelessness in this town. This would make the city more attractive
to businesses, tourists, and new residents that the city is trying to
bring to this city in the name of economic development. The fact is
that when Sunday and later evening routes were cut between 2008and
2009, people began loosing their jobs, while others were turned down
for jobs because they could not work on a Sunday, or past 7:30 p.m.
The city has even lost prospective businesses and many of its
citizens have left Columbia for places such as Charleston,
Greenville, Atlanta, and Charlotte, and other communities, whose
economic development has coincided with the increase in their transit
system. These other transit systems have succeeded and continue to
succeed because their communities view the public transit system as
“tool of economic development,” rather than a “system to
transport the poor and minorities It would there behoove the
political and business leaders in this town to change their
attitude, and become more “active” in working with those working
to enhance and increase our local transit system.
The
late Ike McCleese, former president of Columbia Chamber of Commerce,
and an avid proponent often pointed this very fact out to several of
our political and business leaders. Until this attitude changes,and
more people tell our political and business leaders to think more
like the late Mr. McCleese, Columbia will be stuck with an
inefficient transit system that helps to perpetuate unemployment,
homelessness., and tax paying citizens making an exodus from this
city, causing a greater economic burden on those who remain. This
will remain true regardless of how many new stadiums are built, minor
league teams created, how many additions are made to museums, or how
much money the city spends on improving storefronts.
Keith
H. Seymour is the First Vice President and Communications Chairperson
of the Midlands Transit Riders Association, a non-profit organization
that advocate for a more efficient Transit system in the
Columbia-Midlands Area. He may be reached t
keithhseymour@bellsouth.net
or at 80-960-8785.
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