Share The Cost

The city council [recently] agreed to reduce some Beeline Bus services and is considering raising fees for public transportation.

What was not put on the agenda was asking the city cyclists to pay a users tax for riding the city streets. The city has spent many thousands of dollars painting our city streets for this group of riders. Unlike most bus users, most of these cyclists are not domestic workers, home healthcare workers or students who need a well-run public transportation system.

Isn’t it about time we require these cyclists also to “share the cost” and pay a users fee for utilizing our city streets? Most importantly, we need the money so as not to reduce public transportation services in our city.

Cyclists can go into the City Clerk’s office and purchase a bike tag, just like pet owners who purchase tags for their pets and vehicle owners who pay vehicle registration fees. We need the money to support our public transportation system and possibly even cover expansion during these harsh economic times and not to reduce its services.

A good public transportation system is a “quality of life” indicator of a community.

Mike Mohill
Glendale

Pay It Forward

Viewpoints by Jim Chase and Mike Lawler last week got me to a-wondering too. How will our community look, feel, and function moving into the future and how can volunteers help? The Crescenta Valley is a busy place with volunteers who are involved in a variety of activities in the schools, libraries, parks, events and more.  However, because our Valley is comprised of so many jurisdictions – City of L.A., County of L.A., Glendale and La Cañada – we don’t always know what everyone is doing. Thankfully, there is an organization that welcomes people from all of these places and all points of view to discuss issues and to coordinate effort.

The Crescenta Valley Community Association is comprised of local residents and business owners, most who serve as community volunteers in other capacities such as the CV Town Council or the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council. The topics of discussion vary from land use, neighborhood issues, safety, transportation and much more. This dedicated group of people meets once a month on the fourth Wednesday at 7 p.m. Our next two meetings will be in the Dunsmore Park Community Room on Sept. 28 and Oct. 26. In September, we will host a forum for the candidates running for the Crescenta Valley Water District Board and in October we will invite VOICE (Volunteers Organized in Conserving the Environment) to give a presentation and update on the Verdugo Hills Golf Course.

All are welcome with no RSVPs necessary. Come tell us what’s on your mind or what you are doing.  For further information, contact Sharon Ragavachary at sharonchary@gmail.com.

Susan Bolan
La Crescenta