Qualities of Life in Albany

I've earned my degree!

2011-10-19T08:36:00.002-04:00

It takes 4 years to get through high school. 4 years to earn a college degree. And I think it takes 4 years of choosing to be carfree in Albany to embrace the challenges that go with it. Yup, I've earned my carfree degree!

There's no doubt that I'm much better equipped to continue this lifestyle than I was when I first set out on this adventure in May of 2007. Back then, I never imagined that I'd make it through the first winter without caving to car ownership. By all means, the first year was the hardest, yet, the longer I go without owning a car, the more resolved I am to avoid car ownership in the future.

I've joined the Times Union's Getting There blog which is where you'll see updates from me most often. Here are links to my first two posts:

I plan on keeping this site up with occasional posts. In the meantime, I hope to see you on one of the new CDTA bus lines that are launching November 13, and psst... did you see this Request for Assistance regarding carsharing? My fingers are crossed that our state's Capital will finally join the ranks of other great New York cities that offer carsharing.

Ringin' Up My Bus Pass Savings

2010-03-08T06:29:00.014-05:00

I've mentioned here and elsewhere that I find it very hard to resist a good deal.

Last Monday was Transit Awareness Day, and I was the rider representative hangin' with transit folks from around the state as we made visits reminding state legislators and staff that through all that's going on in their world, New Yorkers across the state depend upon affordable public transit to get to work, to medical appointments, to school and to the grocery store every day.

By about 1 p.m., I was in need of caffeine, and we were standing in the hall between appointments when CDTA's Carm Basile mentioned to me that the next day they'd be announcing a deal with Price Chopper and their AdvantEdge program. Carm said that customers would be able to use their AdvantEdge saving to get discounts on a few of CDTA's bus pass products. Golby's interest piqued.

It must have been 10 minutes later when CDTA's release about the Tuesday press conference hit my email - but the nitty gritty details of the savings were not included.

Still, the anticipation of potential bus savings was an energy boost in itself.

Tuesday's announcement sounded good to me, I'd been interested in fare media similar to the 31-day rolling pass since before the 31-day became available, but never interested enough to spend $65 on it, so this was my chance to check it out.

Tuesday night, I was at the Madison Theatre for a meeting of the judges of the Knickerbocker Film Festival, and I got out of the meeting with just enough time to get to Chopper's Customer Service Desk before its 9 p.m. closing. I whipped out my AdvantEdge card and told the clerk I wanted to buy a bus pass with the new discount. She told me that unfortunately, she couldn't sell me a pass because they were only sold between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. when the corporate business office was open, but she could tell me how much savings I had earned.

$38 in savings. Sweet.

Wednesday afternoon, I returned and made my purchase. The first 31-day sold at Madison Chopper.

As I mentioned on Roger's blog, I think this new partnership between CDTA and the Chopper is a win for everyone -- even for those of you with cars, who want to live life a little more green-ly once in a while. The 10-trip pass is a good vehicle to check out life as a public transit rider.

Now let's hope Price Chopper figures out how to sell the passes after 5 p.m. and on weekends, so that those who work 9-5 can take advantage of the savings.

UPDATE - 3/10: I stopped into Price Chopper yesterday afternoon and asked if they've been able to extend the sale hours for CDTA passesbeyond Monday - Friday from 8-5. The answer: YES. The helpful clerk told me they can also sell them on weekends from 10-4.

Back to the Blogosphere

2009-11-10T08:45:00.006-05:00

Now that campaign season is over, and the mayor is back on the radio Friday mornings, I'm thinking it's safe for me to poke my way back into the blogosphere. I'll continue to post personal essays here about navigating our region without a car, and by January, when I begin my new job, I'll start up an additional blog - a digest of relevant news for Albany's 10th ward residents.

Here's a brief update of my life over the past 5 months:

I was sad to learn about hip hip hoo-Ray's sudden departure from CDTA and hopeful when the Board appointed long-time CDTA employee Carm Basile to lead the transit agency,

I managed to squeeze in a few bus, bike and car adventures away from the 10th ward,

my daughter hand-standed her way through the summer of campaigning,

the yearly battle against the crows began,

the trees turned all kinds bright colors

Now the branches lay bare, and they are perfect perch for the crows we love to chase away.

It must be November.

Albany's first bicycle master plan is complete. If you haven't yet submitted comments - do it now -- today is the last day to submit -- until 3 p.m., according to the new Bike Blog on the TU website.

Submit your comments here:

City of Albany
Department of Development and Planning
21 Lodge Street, Albany, NY 12207
Phone: 518-434-2532 x33
Email: AlbanyBikePlan@cdtcmpo.org

I only started riding a bike in Albany this past spring. I was terrified of cycling on Albany's streets. Now, I ride cautiously. Sometimes, I commute to work by bicycle. Up Western Avenue. That can be harrowing.

My friend Barry only rides on the sidewalk in Albany for safety reasons. As a pedestrian, sidewalk cyclists drive me crazy. Barry says he is very careful when he approaches a pedestrian from behind so as not to startle them. I haven't yet mastered that art, but there are times when I find the only way I'll get to my destination safely is by riding on the sidewalk as well.

A few months ago, I was speaking with an old friend who is part of this bicycle master plan process. I fessed up that while I know I'm not supposed to, I will sometimes ride my bike on the sidewalk because it's just too scary to ride on the street. He then told me about a poster he had seen and said to me, "Oh no, Leah - Don't be that guy!"

I didn't realize until my friend Brian sent me this article that in the world of cyclists, there is a big debate about sharing the road with cars vs. designated cycling sections.

For me, it's about feeling safe. This past Sunday morning, at 9 a.m. when traffic was slow, I was running an errand on my bike and I felt safe to ride on the street. I was riding with my left arm stretched out signaling as I approached the intersection to make a left turn from S. Main to Myrtle Avenue. A motorist behind me thought that it would be a good idea to go into the oncoming traffic lane to pass me immediately before I made my left turn.

Screech of brakes.

He managed to slow his vehicle and not hit me as I made the left turn and didn't lose my balance. Phew.

After my heart settled back into my chest and I was peddling home, I thought to myself, "Does this guy really not know his hand signals???"

The folks in the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association have been advocating for changes to Madison Avenue to be part of the Bike Master Plan. I would love to see the Madison Avenue traffic calming plan implemented as an early part of the bicycle master plan -- it would improve walkability, traffic safety and bicycling in my neighborhood.

Until we do something to calm the traffic, I'll continue to be "that guy" ... riding my bike along the sidewalk on Madison.

Campaign Season

2009-06-08T06:46:00.009-04:00

I pay attention to politics.

I get involved. I work on campaigns.

And now, I've decided to run for office myself.

This is a personal blog - not a campaign blog. For a candidate, on the campaign trail... the line that separates personal and political can be very fine.

In an attempt to make things clear and simple, I won't be writing blog entries here during campaign season.

I do hope to...

see you on the bus,
or the bike
or at the Normanskill!

- Leah

Memorable Memorial Day

2009-05-31T21:10:00.013-04:00

Puzzle: You have 5-day Swiper (valid Monday through Friday-- all month long). It's a Monday holiday and buses are running on a Sunday/ Holiday schedule -- does the pass work?

Now that it's spring and I have a bike and those 7-day CDTA monthly passes are so very pricey since the fare hike was implemented in April, I experimented in May, and purchased a 5-day monthly Swiper (valid Monday through Friday for the month of May).

Getting around with a 5-day pass hasn't slowed me down a bit. I use my bike on the weekends, and sometimes I walk. Not taking the bus has in fact, helped to make life less stressful on weekends since I don't incorporate CDTA bus schedules into my planning.

I have run into a bit of a fashion dilemma though.

Riding my bike so much has left me wondering how to incorporate skirts and dresses into the new travel system.

A few weeks ago, I saw a woman wearing a long skirt and pedaling on her bike with no problem. Looked simple enough. It didn't appear that she had any particular riding strategy.

On Memorial Day I decided to just go for it. I wore a tried and true black summer dress that I adore,

and put a pair of bike shorts on -- just in case the wind blew the wrong way.

Well, that woman I saw happily pedaling with her pretty skirt must have had some strategy -- or special fashionista bike -- or something because by the time I got around my corner, my dress was caught in the back tire and before I had the chance to pull over and check things out -- the dress had knotted and worked itself into a tight little ball.

I managed to get myself untangled -- and worked out a strategy of tying up and holding onto the dress and handlebars simultaneously so I could hop back on and get over to my friend's house.

I was on my way to Garden Street. It's a great little street behind the Spectrum. The first time I visited, I felt like I was in a different time and place. It was after I'd locked up my bike and after I'd rung the doorbell, that I stopped and examined the damage I'd done to my dress.
Sigh.

I was determined to continue with the plan. Good thing I had those bike shorts on at least....

See, my friend Barry and I had been talking for a while about walking from the Delaware Avenue side of the Normanskill across to New Scotland Avenue, then catching a bus back into the city. Memorial Day, we decided, was the day to go for it. The weather was spectacular.

We needed to be mindful of the time so that we could catch the very last Number 13 bus of the day back into town. That bus was scheduled to depart from the Slingerlands Price Chopper at 5:40.

Buses were running on a Sunday/ Holiday schedule. I'd get to test out my 5-day Swiper to see if it worked.

I like the outdoors. I like nature. As a kid, I dug for worms and played with frogs, I'd spend hours and hours playing in rural upstate NY all summer long. But, Barry -- he's in a whole different category. He not only loves the outdoors -- he studies all of the stuff outside that he loves.

Barry's got field guides for birds, plants, insects, trees and shrubs throughout the seasons...and he uses them regularly. He's got binoculars to see things far away and little lenses to look at the details up close. When Barry takes a walk, he is equipped and it's always an adventure to join him.

On previous walks near the Normanskill we'd seen a bluebird, a pileated woodpecker, and curious animal tracks in the snow.

We've found quartz
which Barry told me had grown from the vein of hot fluids that forced themselves into cracks in the rock.

...and gloppy slimy stuff

which he said were algae colonies living in the waterfall puffing themselves up with oxygen they produce inside the colony.

It's handy to take a walk with Barry because even in the winter he can identify poison ivy vines. Yes, there is poison ivy at the Normanskill. He'll make an icky face when he sees it and animate his voice when I ask him how he knows it's poison ivy "You can tell poison ivy vines because they're gross and fat and covered in little red hairs."

Oh.

Catching on, I spotted a vine on one of our winter walks, and asked cautiously, "Is that poison ivy?"

Barry replied, "That? No, no, no. That's a grapevine. It's happy -- not all covered in those icky red hairs. A grapevine... good for swinging from tree to tree!"

Grapevine or poison ivy -- I really couldn't tell the difference. Happy to have Barry as my guide.

Back to fashion.

In addition wearing my summer dress on Memorial Day, I did not wear socks and hiking shoes (well, I don't even own hiking shoes), rather, I had bare feet with little slip-on sneaker things that work great for walks. But, really are not ideal for traipsing through the woods. If it weren't for the poison ivy (and the tics) - I would've been fine.

We weren't far into our walk when I asked Barry to keep an eye out for poison ivy for me. I should know how to tell poison ivy in the spring. Three leaves. Pointy. There's even some poem that I'd heard uttered, but never committed to memory. But still, there are other plants with 3 pointy leaves -- and he knows his stuff, so it just seemed easier to ask him to look out for it.

Well, Barry wasn't going to let me get away with being lazy on Memorial Day. He's one of those natural teachers. We walked a few feet, he stopped and pointed to a plant and asked me, "Is that poison ivy?"

"That, ummm... no, it's thorny. Poison ivy isn't thorny, " I replied.

Twenty feet later, he was asking me again, "How about there? Is there any poison ivy there?" as he pointed to a square yard of earth covered with many different plants.

"I don't know," I responded, "wait... is that poison ivy?"

"That? Well, let's see, ... the leaves are opposite"

Leaves are opposite? What is he talking about?

"Poison ivy leaves are not opposite, so no - it's not poison ivy," Barry told me.

I fessed up and told him that I had no idea what he was talking about, "opposite?", and got myself a quick lesson.

Thank you, Barry.

We had made it down to the Normanskill. And at the same time, we noticed a whole bunch of ...

Tadpoles!

Along we walked... and we saw more and more tadpoles.

There were lots of 'em. I asked Barry if he knew how long the tadpoles were tadpoles. He told me that it varied depending upon the species -- some a few months -- while bull frogs could be tadpoles for a year or longer. Wow.

We waded through the Normanskill for a while walking along. We ran into a family walking the opposite direction who had stopped to play on the long trunk of tree that had apparently floated downstream at some point and pitched itself there -- it was perfect for kids to climb on -- and that's exactly what they were doing.

We got ourselves back on land, and Barry continued to ask me periodically whether there was poison ivy in this patch or that patch.

"Leah, is that poison ivy?"

I stopped, I looked, I pondered. Three leaves. Pointy. Leaves aren't opposite. "Yes, I said, that is poison ivy!"

Since we had now positively identified some poison ivy, we examined it so I could try to learn additional features. Barry explained poison ivy is often oily and the leaves sometimes have a red tint. I saw the oily shine and the red tint. I noticed the leaves... they weren't all shaped the same. Exactly, he said, the leaves are not regular, some have teeth, the teeth can vary, and others are almost smooth.

It seemed, I was now on my way to being able to recognize poison ivy on my own.

And we walked along the path of the Normanskill trail that we often take.
We saw birds. Robins, swallows, goldfinches and of course, red-winged blackbirds... perhaps a bluebird...though we weren't quite sure this time.

And there were lots of wildflowers growing... I snapped a few with my camera phone...

Above is fleabane - some species of Erigeron - part of the aster family.

And that purple flower above is Dame's rocket - Hesperis matronalis - it's in the mustard family.
Well, my camera phone didn't do a good job of capturing the very fun-looking flower above which Barry tells me is Ragged Robin - Lychnis Flos-cuculi - and it's part of the pink family.

We walked through the woods, (still looking for poison ivy) and down a steep hill, and then suddenly we were no longer among the leaves and trees, but on the manicured green of the Albany Municipal Golf Course.

Trail.

There's supposed to be a trail. But where? We saw something that could have been a trail going along the power lines, but Barry, looked for a marker and didn't see one. He was concerned about us starting off along the power lines without knowing that following the path would actually lead us someplace...and not stranded. Hmmm...

It suddenly dawned on me that (a) I was on a golf course, and (b) I was clueless about golf course etiquette.

I was wearing a torn dress. Barry had on a tee-shirt. We were clearly out of place. And what about golf balls soaring through the air?

I'd only been to the golf course for winter sledding. Never for golfing.

We walked along the course hoping to see signs of the trail. It wasn't really crowded, I think most regular golfers were probably busy with Memorial Day barbecues. Eventually we saw some golfers, and one of them, before moving on to his next shot, took a moment to walk over to us and said, "You know you really shouldn't be walking along here. It's dangerous."

"Yeah, we know, we were looking for the trail, but couldn't find it."

"Ah," he said, "Well, the trail is along the power lines."

At that point, the power lines were no longer in sight and we had walked quite a while. The three of us looked around.

"There, " the golfer said pointing, "See that path over there, if you follow it, it will take you to the power lines. Then you can follow the trail."

We thanked him and were on our way.

We walked along the path until Barry stopped suddenly. He was staring at a huge pile of dirt.

(Again, the camera phone -- didn't quite capture this) This pile of dirt was the biggest anthill that I'd ever come across. Ever. And the ants were busy. Barry told me that these were of the Formica Rufa group, called wood ants in Europe and they are protected species because they control caterpillars that defoliate spruce trees.

Barry knows his ants.

He put his finger on the anthill and they started biting him. Protecting their territory, I guess.

We continued along the trail. Barry, in true Barry fashion, continued to periodically keep me on my poison ivy searching toes. We seemed to be doing ok with the time, though it was tricky to really gauge. Not knowing quite how far we had to go, and hoping we would catch the last bus.

At one point Barry paused and held his finger to his lip -- in that way to signal, "be quiet, very, very quiet." "Hear that?" Barry asked, "It's a wood thrush."

The sound was beautiful.

"I've never seen one," he told me. That surprised me.

Eventually, the trail ended and we could tell we had made it to the other side.

Starving. We were both really, really hungry.

"Oh, that's gotta be Martel's," I said to Barry pointing to a building and knowing he had no idea what Martel's was, "it's a restaurant."

We had a little time before our bus. Not a lot of time.

... and guess who we saw enjoying a relaxed late afternoon out on the Martel's patio?

I smiled and waved hello as we walked by. Then Barry asked who it was.

You see, Barry knows a lot about bugs and plants and birds and science. But, unlike me, he really doesn't pay attention to politics.

Before I answered, he asked, "Wait... was that the ORANGE guy?"

Starving - we walked inside Martel's, and ordered some food to go. We considered eating there, but didn't think we had enough time. We figured sandwiches would be quick --so we asked for a couple of easy sandwich-type orders.

We waited and waited. We waited so long that we saw the mayor and his wife again as they walked through on their way out and said his good-byes to everyone. "Good night, Mayor," I said.

"Does he know you?" Barry asked.

"No, he might recognize me as one of those City PTA people or something...but he doesn't know me," I said.

We started to get anxious thinking that we might not make our bus.

Finally, with food in hand, at about 5:30, we ran out, and walked quickly towards New Scotland Avenue where we found the bus stop easily.

When the bus pulled up, I asked the driver if my 5-day Swiper would work - he said it would, and it did.

Puzzle solved.

What a day. Seeing tons of tadpoles, finally learning to recognize poison ivy, wandering out of place on the golf course and bumping into the mayor at Martel's.

Even with my mangled dress, I couldn't have asked for a more satisfying Albany adventure.

Just in time...

2009-04-19T22:33:00.007-04:00

I'm getting ready for a busy week of holding rehearsals at New Scotland Elementary all in preparation for the 3rd annual Turnoff Week Talent Show this Saturday night. I take Turnoff Week seriously and don't use the computer for recreational use - this blog -- well, it just doesn't count as work.

I couldn't let myself start Turnoff Week without sharing the great news. Here it is:

I have a bike!
(it's the one on the right - the teal one-- first trip to the Normanskill for my new bike today)

After relying on my sturdy feet, CDTA and not using a car to get around regularly for almost 2 years, to finally have a set of wheels is incredibly liberating. I haven't stopped smiling.

(My bike on its first bus - at least in its new role as my bike)

I've zipped around town every day since picking up the bike (and helmet) Wednesday after helping to repair it on Tuesday down at the Troy Bike Rescue here in Albany.

(The check-in sheet that we diligently completed when making sure my bike was ready to roll)

Thanks to Mary Lou and Chris and all the other volunteers down on Trinity Place.

So, just in time for Earth Day and even before Bike Month, I have a bike.

Living in Albany without a car just got a whole lot easier.

3 Days with a Car

2009-04-19T11:55:00.004-04:00

I've just about made it through spring break.

My almost 10-year old daughter, Sierra has an hourly mantra. It goes like this: I'm borrrrrred!

I've built up an immunity to the whiny sounds that periodically spew from her mouth. I think it's the only way I'll survive the next few years.

Sierra wanted to go someplace during spring break. Fair enough. I'd love to go someplace too.

One of her friends ventured to California for the entire break. Another took a two-day holiday to Mystic, Connecticut.

The first night of school vacation, Sierra asked if we could go to New York City. That can be a pretty economical trip considering my sister still lives in the apartment we moved to when I was 10 in the West Village, my awesome uncle is in the apartment in Brooklyn Heights that he's had since I was younger than my daughter, and my mom is in those co-ops in the 20s on the west side built in part by the ILGWU. Always a place to stay, and always a good meal.

I checked the Mega bus to see if I could get any deals -- nothing great.

I checked Enterprise to see if they had any of their weekend deals. Yup. 50% off for three days.

Then, I checked the weather forecast for the weekend in the city. Pretty grim. I told Sierra I was still up for the trip, but she decided since it wasn't beach weather and because I erroneously thought Coney Island was now closed, Sierra preferred that I rent a car and we use it to do things around here that we don't usually do together.

When I stopped to think about it, I realized it had been more than a year since I'd rented a car to just hang out around town.

Friday morning, the Enterprise employee pulled up on our block and drove us to their Central Avenue location. The total 3-day rental costs including the damage waiver insurance came to under $90. I wound up spending about $20 on gas --total. Not bad.

Sierra wanted to see a movie. Okay with me, but the weather was beautiful and I wasn't setting foot inside a movie theatre until it started to get rainy. We went to Colonie Center in the early afternoon to purchase tickets for the 6:40 show, and since we were out that way, I suggested we check out the Pine Bush Preserve and/or visit the Pine Bush Discovery Center.

There wasn't really enough time to do both since we were scheduled to pick up one of her friends in about an hour and a half. Since we were close to the only preserve location that I knew of without looking anything up, I pulled into the parking lot off of Fuller Road. As it turned out, we were there to witness the lake being stocked with trout. I don't find that particular section of the preserve peaceful -- the whooshing sound of cars all around me was a bit unnerving.

We left to pick up her friend.

I gave them a choice.

Central Park in Schenectady or the Crossings in Colonie. Schenectady was the winner. I was happy with that. I hadn't looked for groundhogs playing in the grass on Thruway along the drive to Schenectady in a long time.

Some of the equipment at Central Park looks like it's been around since I was a kid.

Big and sturdy and lots of fun.

I like the fact that there are huge trees amidst the play equipment at Central Park.

The ice cream truck showed up while we were there -- so for the kids, it was a winner of a choice.

And then it was time to go. Short and sweet trip to Schenectady's Central Park.

I survived the movie -- though my wallet was significantly lighter when we left Colonie Center that night --ouch.

The next day Sierra decided she wanted to go to Hancock Shaker Village. She's a sucker for baby animals, and yes, it's that time of year.

And she still likes playing dress-up.

When I got home that night I was wiped out. Driving. Baby animals. More driving. I'm not used to it.

The next day it was time for me to have a play date -- it was so weird to drive over to Barry's house. Oxymoron in action. Barry has told me more than once that he hates cars.

He recently discovered the Mohawk and thought it would be fun for us to drive to Vischer Ferry. And so we did. I'd never been there.

I always thought Clifton Park was nothing more than suburban development, big box stores, and a mall. Alas, I was wrong. There are parts that are quite beautiful.

And we saw a whole bunch of birds.

But the driving was bizarre. Barry and I usually have a comfortable rhythm and rapport when we hang out. But, as I took him up the Northway and we looked for places to pull over and check out the water with my foot on the gas pedal making the car go "whoosh", I found myself feeling out of sorts.

Once we parked and our feet were firmly planted on Earth -- I was much more at ease, and we returned to our normal outdoor exploring rhythm -- looking at lichens and birds and all kinds of plants.

I think it's all about what you're used to. And it has happened. I am now very used to getting around this region without driving a car.

10-Trip Deal was for Real

2009-04-02T11:43:00.003-04:00

In case you saw the post on AOA, and weren't sure whether or not to purchase yourself a 10-trip Swiper (or two...) prior to April 1 to perhaps save $3.50 per Swiper.

I tested it this morning.

It worked just fine.

My grandmother would be proud.

April Fool's Day Fare Hike Arrives

2009-04-01T05:55:00.002-04:00

The day of the astronomical fare hike is upon us.

Ouch.

As mentioned elsewhere, I couldn't decide what I was going to do -- would I really continue to purchase a 7-day monthly bus pass when the retail price was going up a whopping 50%? (Woodruff's TU article states, "Increases in pre-paid Swiper cards and other fare payment methods also take effect, though those increases will generally be less than 50 percent." -- I think she might need a math tutor -- most fares, no matter how sliced are going up 50% or more.) That 50% increase really got me pondering the value of a 7-day pass, and in fact, the name itself, 7-day Swiper. C'mon CDTA, can you really call it a 7-day Swiper, when at my last count (and things have changed a bit) there were 35 "Albany" bus lines, and only 11 run on Sundays? Not to mention, some of the lines that do run stop service by 6 or 7 p.m. on a Sunday!

I live closest to the Number 3 and Number 4 lines -- no weekend 4 service at all and no 3 service on Sundays.

I spend a lot of time in the Delaware Avenue neighborhood, but ask anyone who lives in that neighborhood about bus service and you'll get an earful of complaints. no 18 or 9 service on Sundays.

I use the 13 a lot -- but on Sundays, the last 13 to leave downtown Albany is at 5p.m. - the last one to leave the Slingerlands Chopper, 5:40 p.m.!

The harsh reality of the fare hike makes me realize just how much Sunday service is the bare bones of CDTA. In this economy that $10 saved by purchasing a 5-day pass rather than a 7-day could go towards something of greater value.

Then there were these thoughts running through my brain:

It is spring after all, and I have been talking about getting a bike for over a year now. Not to mention that my clothes are feeling a little too snug, so walking more on weekends would be good "for my figure," as my 97 year-old great Aunt Sylvia would say.

My conversation with the teller at the downtown KeyBank on Monday as noted on AOA. The friendly bank teller tipped me off that by purchasing a 10-trip pass before April 1 at $9.50, I'd (hopefully) still be able to use that pass for 10-trips once the increase went effect.

It was evident, all roads were pointing me towards trying out the 5-day pass, good Monday thru Friday-- at least during this first month of the fare hike. I could put the unspent $10 in my not-yet-started "save for a bicycle" box.

At about noon on March 31, I decided it was time to search for some kind of a break on the retail price.

I work for an organization that's affiliated with Daughters of Sarah Nursing Home -- actually, my office is right next door. I recalled that the nursing home does a bulk purchase of Swipers for employees, and thought I'd walk over and see if I could get in on the deal.

When I arrived, I learned that I can indeed purchase my bus pass through them -- but, the woman in charge of selling passes told me she was completely out of 5-day passes. She only had 7-day passes left - she could put in an order for more of the 5-days, but it would take a few days for them to arrive. She showed me the thick bundle of green 7-day passes that were available for sale saying that usually, at this point in the month she's out of 7-day passes, not 5-days!

I wasn't surprised to learn that with the huge fare hike, 7-day passes were no longer the hot item for the car-less employees of Daughters of Sarah. My guess is that CDTA is seeing a drastic reduction in sales of the 7-day Swiper pass. I'm also thinking ridership is going to drop. The fare hike is simply not affordable for the average CDTA rider.

So, for April, I was a bit of a fool...using my Daughters of Sarah discount, I spent $61 on a 7-day swiper instead of the $65 retail price.

It's definitely time to make my way down to the Troy Bike Rescue and learn a thing or two so I'm equipped to get around during Bike Month!

The New Routine: Part I

2009-02-07T14:25:00.008-05:00

Woah... that was quite a January. A whole lot of new.

New year.

New President.

And biggest change of all ... new routine for getting my daughter to and from school.

Why?

In May 2007, when I started this experiment of getting around without a car, it was spring. Walking was fun and full of sun most days, and my daughter attended our "neighborhood" school... 8/10 of a mile from home. I enjoy walking with my daughter, she tells me all kinds of things I wouldn't know otherwise when we walk together. I hear about things "this kid" did to "that kid", things the teacher said, things that are up between her and her friends... all kinds of things. I think walking has got to be good for relationships.

I walked her to school with running gear on, dropped her off, stretched and jogged home -- adding a few extra blocks to make sure the jog was at least a mile. I'd get home, shower, dress for work and head to my own bus stop. Overall, an invigorating way to start to the day.

At the end of the 2006-2007 school year, that school building closed for renovations for a year and a half. In September 2007, students split up into a few different locations with the bulk of the kids (my daughter included) heading to a temporary location 1.2 miles from our house.

There was no need to walk. She got yellow bus service.

Busing kids to school works likes this: districts are reimbursed for transporting students who reside more than 1.5 miles from their schools, and districts can put special policies in place to transport students who live closer, but in most cases (if not all), school districts are not reimbursed for any such enhanced transportation services. Part of the Albany City School District Facilities Plan expanded bus service for students in temporary school buildings to > .5 mile.

What did that mean for me?

I got lazy.

I was only required to be sure my daughter made it to the corner where a yellow bus picked her up each morning to take her to school. She had fun experiencing the whole taking-the-yellow-school-bus thing -- something that I never had growing up in NYC. After the bus picked her up, I was on my way to work -- work for me changed during that year and a half from a downtown location to a location far, far on the outskirts of Albany on Washington Avenue Extension.

This past September I realized my lazy yellow bus days would be coming to an end. Our neighborhood school's renovations would be complete in January. January. January is cold in Albany, and I was without a car. I started thinking about this -- thinking about when I went to school in NYC, we got transit passes -- and students of all ages still get transit passes there to get to and from school. In October, I spoke during the public comment period at a school board meeting about my experiment of getting around town without a car, and my concerns for families in the district who don't have cars. I've had conversations with a number of board members since then, and they agree that transportation is a huge issue -- but we still don't have a solution.

January arrived and the renovations were complete -- school re-opened.

January arrived and it was cold.

January arrived and the lazy corner bus service was no more. It was time for me to experience life as a parent without a car in an Albany winter the way that most parents without cars experience it --- freezing.

Google Transit tells us that walking to school takes about 15 minutes. Google Transit, also has the following disclaimer, "Walking directions are in beta.Use caution – This route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths. "

Hmmmm...

I guess that translates to, "Use Caution, sidewalk snow and ice removal codes are a joke in Albany. Try ice skates."

Walking to school has been taking us more than 15 minutes. Usually at least 20. Sometimes, we'll walk more than 1/2 way to school, and the timing is right to catch a bus for the last 3/10 mile. It costs a dollar (until April 1, when the fare goes up) to get my daughter on the bus -- not economical, but when you're frozen and rushing to get a kid to school and then get all the Washington Avenue Extension from a totally new location that is not nearly as direct as the pre-January bus stop from back in the "good ol' school bus days"... that dollar becomes worth it -- quickly.

Sometimes, there's no bus in sight and it's so cold that we'll stop by Stewart's to warm up.

Sometimes, she gets a ride from daddy or a friend -- but she's committed to walking, and so we brave the cold together: a mother-daughter bonding experience.

We arrive at school, say goodbye -- and I'm on my way to work.

Stay tuned for Part II of the New Routine where I attempt to figure out the fastest way to get to Washington Avenue Extension from New Scotland Elementary School.

Bus Stuff or Gelato?

2009-01-22T08:30:00.015-05:00

Lucile Brewer had an idea-- she wanted one representative of each of the groups that are working to help bus riders by either fighting the transit hike or just plain supporting public transit to give a little presentation at the January meeting of Citizens for Public Transportation.

Lucile, of course, is the original Albany Bus Lady, and Metroland gave her creds as a Local Hero in 2008.

Lucile is also persistent. Tenacious. She calls and calls and calls. I couldn't commit to representing our little group last night, but two of our peeps agreed to be there.

The Citizens for Public Transportation meeting started at 7. As things turned out, by 7:15 -- I was out and about with nothing to do, so I headed towards the APL main branch.

When I showed up at 8, I'd missed the presentations by all of the groups who made it there which included Capital District Coalition for Accessible Transportation, Citizen Action, The Green Party, and Capital Region Transit Advocates.

But... there were two representatives of CDTA there, Luis Acosta, who usually shows up at the CPT meetings and Kristina Younger who seems to do just about everything at CDTA. I was happy to see Kristina there.

She was not only there, she listened and gave us good info. I practically jumped out of my seat with glee when I heard that one of my hopes for 2009, is looking like it's on the horizon. CDTA may be entering the 21st century with a great new product -- a 31-day monthly pass -- good from the first day of use! It sounds like at first (begining in April with the fare hike), the pass will only be sold via the web. They are also looking into a possible deep, deep discount yearly pass.

Yes!

But, when I left the meeting I couldn't celebrate with Crisan gelato. I didn't even walk by. Why? I was too devastated. I learned some sad news from my bus and gelato buddy, Barry. We counted the days together waiting for Crisan to re-open after their long winter's nap. When he showed up on their doorstep on Inauguration Day, Barry learned that they aren't selling dishes of gelato until spring!!

Spring??

Barry found this tragic and suggested we drop all this bus stuff and concentrate on getting the good folks at Crisan to change their mind so we can make it through this harsh winter with some gelato happiness.

I don't think I responded to Barry's suggestion, but he has a point. We'd probably have better luck swaying Crisan's mind than rolling back CDTA's astronomical 50% fare hike.

(Note: this post has been updated from earlier this morning -- when I was in such denial about Crisan's lack of gelato, I had momentarily erased the news from my mind.)

Kissing 2008 Goodbye

2008-12-30T16:59:00.002-05:00

Back in May 2007, when the car wouldn't start and I decided to make better use of my time than waiting around for AAA to show up, I never would have imagined that over a year and a 1/2 later, I'd be without a car -- on purpose. Yes, I often ask myself, "Why am I doing this completely insane and very time-consuming experiment??" The truth is that I'm having a whole lot of fun while doing it.

As 2008 comes to a close, it's time for me to jump on the year-end reflection bus... below are a few things TQL noted in 2008.

1. The CDTA Trip Planner seemed nifty when it was first introduced. On closer examination, I noticed it was rather clunky and didn't provide clear information on the shuttle stops.

2. The CDTA monthly pass (called the Swiper) could be a lot more consumer-friendly by (i) changing the valid dates to be good 30 days from the first day of use, rather than based on the calendar month, and (ii) offering refunds for lost or stolen cards. Both of these are standard over at the MTA.

3. My good friend took me grocery shopping at the Slingerlands Chopper. We noticed some major disparities in customer service between the city and the 'burbs. I've since traveled back there a few times via bus. The best thing about letting CDTA take me to the Slingerlands Price Chopper is that I don't have to get confused by the obtuse signage of the Slingerlands roundabouts.

4. I experienced the overcrowded Route 5 corridor first-hand one Sunday night when I was late picking my daughter up from a friend's house.

5. In the final days of my relationship with CDTA's Trip Planner, I noted that CDTA didn't program the Trip Planner with the holiday schedule over Memorial Day. I was thrilled to start something new with Google Transit which seemed to make my life easier. When Labor Day rolled around, I ran another test of inter-office communication, which yielded different results than the Memorial Day experiment.

6. I dreamt of light rail, contemplated car sharing, and kvetched about CDTA's circular reasoning (which they occasionally dismantle, but not consistently).

7. I'm not nearly as productive a blogger as I could be, and I've been happy to share info with the fab folks at AOA -- including CDTA's new jingle and the innovative partnership between the Affordable Housing Partnership and CDTA that my friend "Lucy" tipped me off about.

8. I highlighted a few bus adventures and encounters. Some fun. Some not so fun. I contemplated neighborhood planning and learned a bit of Albany's trolley history from my friends, Nancy and Gregg.

9. Gun violence surged in the city. The death of a 10-year old girl sixteen blocks from my home in May and the killing of a college student two blocks from home in October spoke volumes to me about how Albany's neighborhoods have been neglected.

10. I worked with a bunch of great people to fight CDTA's fare hike. The fun all started when I called my friend Roger November 30 to discuss taking action against the hike. I dragged an anti-automobile boy to the public hearing on December 4 (with the plan to get some Crisan gelato after the hearing no matter how cold it was outside), and we met a few people who were ready to work to Stop the Hike. Unfortunately, the board passed the revised fare increase without considering that they could have real options not far ahead if they would only push for them (yes, the 7th Avenue subway line needs help-- but Capital Region residents and visitors deserve affordable mass transit too!) ... still, I look forward to working with Ray Melleady and the CDTA crew in the future.

As for my thoughts for 2009 - check out what I told my friends at All Over Albany.

Happy New Year.

Capital Region Transit Advocates Launches Blog

2008-12-09T14:41:00.003-05:00

Check it out.

There's a link to an online petition.

iRide Green when weStop the Hike

2008-12-03T12:30:00.006-05:00

I've been busy pondering the fare hike - talking to friends, shooting emails back and forth, and trying to focus on the core issues that a broad coalition of transit supporters (with varying pet peeves) can agree upon when it comes to taking a position on CDTA's proposed fare increases and its impact on riders. (Yes, I wrote that article.)

We're getting a petition together (hoping to have it available in hard copy and online by the weekend) which we'll submit to CDTA on December 12 - the last day to submit written comments.

Here are the points we're focusing on:

1. The proposed 50% fare hike and service cuts are too steep and will hurt low income people who depend on CDTA as their primary mode of transportation.

2. The proposed 50% fare hike will likely send many of CDTA's new riders who take the bus by choice, right back to their cars.

3. CDTA argues that higher fuel costs are part of what is driving up operating costs, with the recent drastic drop in fuel costs, it doesn't appear that a 50% fare hike can be justified.

Our coalition understands that CDTA is under-funded, and we are calling for government to make an investment in mass transit so that fares stay affordable for those who depend on it, and attractive to those who might want to give the bus a whirl.

Public Hearings have started already -- they were held Monday in Saratoga County, yesterday in Rensselaer County... if you've got reports from either of those locations, send in comments. I'm eager to hear about the turnout and the fare increase feedback from the public.

Tomorrow is Albany County - 4:30 - 8 p.m. at the Main Branch of the Albany Public Library. Your so-called transit riding superhero will be there.

Monday, December 8 is Schenectady - 4:30 - 8 p.m. at the Schenectady County Public Library.

I was under the impression that the hearings would provide details on the proposed service cuts. But I've seen no reports, there's nothing about the specifics on the website, and when I asked a bus driver this morning if he'd heard about pending service cuts, he said he'd heard nothing. So... when are they going to tell us? If you know, please share.

Albany transit: present, past, future...

2008-11-17T11:55:00.007-05:00

The fall conference of the New York Public Transportation Association (NYPTA) doesn't usually get mentioned in a New York Times op-ed. While reporters at the conference were hoping for info about Hillary's place on the Obama short list for Secretary of State, I'm more interested in the following:

Where was my invitation to the affair? Lost in the mail, I assume. Actually, transit riders, including so-called superheroes, are not standard NYPTA members.

CDTA's Executive Director, Ray Melleady's rise to the President of this organization. I hear before he came to our neck of the woods, Melleady started out as a mechanic for a Pennsylvania transit authority.

Whether anyone from Rochester Transit shared their strategies for reducing bus fares to $1 per ride...looking at the program, the answer to that question would be, "Not this time around."

Can anyone tell me if the wonders of modern day trolleys were discussed at the meeting? I know trolley, train or other transit service that moves us along faster than our current system, is part of my hope for the future of public transportation for our region.

Speaking of trolleys, I learned some Albany history from my good friends Gregg and Nancy on a recent night out. They told me my favorite CDTA bus line, the Number 3, follows the route of one of Albany's original trolley lines - and I was totally unaware that I walk by one of the old electrical posts every day on Quail Street. [UPDATE: Greg's comment below reminded me that I neglected to mention the location on Quail Street where you can find the old trolley post - it's near the corner of Western Avenue - on the south west side of Quail Street. I also learned from the historically astute Nancy and Gregg that there's one other old trolley post still hanging around on Hamilton Street just off Lark, thanks to some vociferous neighborhood preservation folk.]

Meanwhile, in current local transit news, Roger Green tells us that Citizens for Public Transportation will hold their monthly meeting this Wednesday, November 19, at 7 p.m. at the Albany Public Library. Topic: Fare Hike.

Consider this your invitation to the meeting. I'll be there to put in my two cents about CDTA's proposed 50% fare hike -I hope you will too.

A Night with my Daughter

2008-11-07T07:30:00.021-05:00

Most election nights, I go out and watch the returns with my fellow campaigners.

This year was different. My daughter declared the first week of school, "I'm studying Barack Obama and John McCain." And so it was...the first Presidential election where she was engaged in the race -- big time. My child was much more certain than I was of an Obama victory; all of her polling told her so. There were only 2 kids in her class of sixteen supporting McCain. The 4th and 5th grades held a mock election at school and Obama won by an overwhelming majority. Finally, she argued, according to the Nick online poll, Obama won -- so duh, Mom... Obama was clearly going to be our next President.

My African American daughter heard me talk of the Bradley effect, but really, she doesn't get racism...yet. Not the way that I do, certainly not the way that her dad does, absolutely not the way her grandparents, who grew up "Negroes" in the segregated south do.

Priorities. I made a decision to stay home and watch the returns from the couch with the kid.

Early in the night, I was feeling hopeful. The news from Pennsylvania -- a good indicator of things to come. In addition to the Presidential race, we were interested in a number of local elections, as the 4 remaining lawn signs on the little patch of grass in front of our house indicated. At one point, there were 5 signs. Our Obama sign was stolen about 3 weeks before the election.

My kid was confident and tired. She fell asleep around 10 p.m. on the couch.

I was the lone awake one in the house, t.v. going in the living room, NPR in the kitchen. At 11:01, I was keeping busy in the kitchen when I heard the news of a declaration of our President-Elect. Followed by a burst of hoorahs from someplace outside. I smiled. The last time I heard hoorahs in the streets was for a Yankees victory in the World Series. I ran into the living room to tell my sleeping beauty the good news. She seemed to acknowledge me, but was more interested in continuing her dream.

And so, I waited for the great orator to give his speech. And watched. And sat at the computer, checking the TU site. And sent "Yes we can" texts to a few of my friends. And I was elated.

I thought about the conversation I'd had that afternoon with a woman who called me to discuss the school board race. I was supporting two candidates (one of them, the only African American candidate in the race), and she had questions. This is a very intelligent and very idealistic white woman. This is a woman who has trouble believing people are still judged by the color of their skin. She told me she hoped with this election, that would end. I told her I thought it would take more than this election, but that if Obama were elected, it would be another very good step in the right direction.

I thought about the conversation I'd had that day with an African American male friend whose young children moved to a rural Capital Region town with their white mother. As soon as the family moved in, confederate flags went up at certain houses.

I know there's still racism. It can be scarily subtle and it can be in-your-face-obvious.

The beautiful thing is that we outnumbered them at the polls on November 4th. Not that I believe every vote for McCain was cast out of racism, but I've heard enough to know, that (to tweak PE for a minute) Fear of a Black President brought many to vote against Obama because of race.

November 5th, I was walking on air. The first time ever in a Presidential election year, that every single vote I cast was a winning one-- from the school board, to a local proposition, right on up to the President! It was one of those days where nothing was going to get me down. I walked my daughter to the bus stop in the morning, newspaper in hand. I asked one of the kids with a great big smile on my face, "Who's going to be the next President?"

"Obama!" he responded.

One girl asked, "We know who the President is already??"

I showed her the front page of the newspaper, and I watched her young face light up as she looked at it.

That afternoon, I got on the Number 10 at the end of my workday, and I noticed a bright red seat directly behind the driver's seat. I'd seen the seat before, but had never paid attention.

Then I noticed there was more than a seat... there was a commemorative plaque.

The plaque noted the red seat was in honor of Rosa Parks.

A very good reminder that the Presidential victory of the previous day was only possible because of the courage of Ms. Parks and thousands of other Americans whose names I'll never know.

VOTE in Today's Historic General Election

2008-11-04T07:19:00.005-05:00

Considering the number of hits to this site yesterday from people looking for polling times - here you go:

In Albany County, the polls are open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. If you are unsure of your polling location, you can use this quirky tool on the Albany County Board of Elections website, or call the Board of Elections at (518) 487-5060.

Voting in the City of Albany? Don't forget Proposition 2 and the school board race. The school board candidates and the proposition will not be in the obvious upper left section of the ballot with all the "big stuff" -- so you really need to look for them.

What to do Election Eve? Check out this cool FREE film...

2008-11-03T16:28:00.005-05:00

The Pine Hills Neighborhood Association is screening Contested Streets tonight at Steamer 10 Theater - 500 Western Avenue -7 p.m. It's FREE.

Looks cool.

Wish I could make it there.

CDTA Posts Fare Hike Details

2008-11-02T11:55:00.004-05:00

I popped over to CDTA's website this morning, and I see they've finally listed information about the proposed fare hike. The information is quite robust, and includes many more details than last week's TU article about fares on the rise. The article noted that over 50% of the boardings are pre-paid, and I'm assuming that includes the use of the $3 Day Card, which after the initial purchase becomes pre-paid media. It's important to remember that CDTA no longer offers transfers, while MTA does, and so if you plan on taking a bus more than 3 times in one day, it pays to purchase a Day Card. I'm interested in learning the breakdown in pre-paid fares by media type -- e.g. daily percentages of 7-day monthly swipers, 5-day monthly-swipers, Day Cards, etc.

I've got lots of opinions and ideas about this proposal, and as regular readers have probably picked up, I'm flat-out opposed to the fare hike. I think it's too steep and will hurt those who rely on CDTA the most, and I'm dumb-founded that Rochester (similar-sized fleet) was able to cut their base fare down to $1 per ride during the same month that CDTA decided they had no choice but to impose a whopping 50% base fare increase on its riders. How is that possible? What is CDTA not doing right?

If the proposed fare hike is implemented as planned, your local transit-riding superhero is urging CDTA to make the following adjustments to their fare sales (actually, these adjustments would be welcome regardless of a fare hike) :
1. Re-instate transfers to be distributed the same way MTA distributes transfers.
2. Change both types of monthly passes to be valid for 30 days from the time of first use so that bus riders can purchase the cards on whatever date is most convenient for them.

Meanwhile, if you believe the proposed fare hike goes overboard and would like to work for a more reasonable solution, send me a note via the email link on the "Contact" section on my profile.

This Mourning is Getting Regular

2008-10-22T18:05:00.006-04:00

Albany is a small city.

At 11:20 on Monday night, I was sound asleep. I heard nothing.

I know a lot of people in my neighborhood, but I didn't know Richard Bailey -- even though he lived a block away from me.

South Lake and Yates Street -- I pass by often. Very often. Two blocks from home. It's on the way to the Number 3 bus and the Number 4 bus, and glorious Washington Park. We often dribble a basketball down South Lake as we head to the park to shoot hoops.

Last night my daughter announced she wasn't walking to the school bus stop alone any more. She had been going solo there for a while now because I'm always running behind in the morning. And because she's 9 1/2 and there are no streets to cross. It had seemed a good building block towards independence. But Richard Bailey was murdered in our neighborhood, very close to our house, and I was picking up what she was putting down. Even if she hadn't made that announcement, I'm sure I would have walked her there myself this morning.

Still, my daughter's fear is heart-breaking.

Albany is a small city.

I came here from downstate as a SUNY student -- just like Richard Bailey did. I've walked alone on Albany's streets -- in this neighborhood, and in other neighborhoods -- late, late at night.

This morning, I had an appointment downtown. I took a candle with me and some matches. When I got to the spot on South Lake where Rick was shot, there were two burning candles, and some that had gone out in the rain and the wind. I tried to light my candle, but the matches didn't work. I decided to leave the candle at the spot, and I'd bring some better matches by later.

When I got on the Number 3, the driver, who used to take me to work every day, asked how things were down the block. Of course I knew what he meant. Quiet, as usual, I told him. We talked about how we're each grappling with this. He told me that Albany had always been a pretty safe city - that fifteen years ago, when he started this job -- these kind of things were really unheard of -- and now, along his route he's passing a number of serious crime scenes fifteen times during his workday. I told him that I came here as a SUNY student, and he said, "Oh, so you really relate to this," I replied, "Yes, I do. It resonates with me -- just as Kathina Thomas resonated with me in May -- and Jamaz Miller who was shot in broad daylight on Judson Street less than two weeks ago resonates with me." I told him I thought there was a growing problem in this city, and we really need to deal with it. He agreed.

A few hours later, I caught the Number 3 going in the other direction. I don't really know this driver. We had an almost-incident not too long ago. I didn't like the way she was talking to a middle school student who got on the bus without a bus pass -- the student said the school hadn't issued one yet, she told him if he didn't have a pass the next time he got on her bus, he'd have to have a dollar. She has a job to do, of course -- but I didn't think it was necessary to speak in the tone of voice she elected to use... and I got up to say something to her about it. She saw me coming, and told me to sit back down. I let it go. Today, she was talking with another passenger about Richard Bailey, and how sad it all is. They talked about how he should be graduating school in January -- how he wanted to be a police officer. The driver threw in her two cents about what the problem is, "Too many kids with parents who aren't raising them together. Too many single mothers who have to work and can't be home with their kids," she was saying. When I pulled the rope to signal I was getting off at Madison Avenue and South Lake, she said, "Oh, you live around here," with an air of sincerity -- we exchanged looks of hopelessness.

When I walked by the candle I had left at South Lake near Yates Street, it was burning.

Kathina Thomas was killed sixteen blocks from my house.

Richard Bailey was killed two blocks from my house.

Albany is a small city.

As many before me have said, and as I told the Common Council on June 2 -- this has got to stop.

Tragedy in the neighborhood

2008-10-21T15:40:00.001-04:00

Crime is down, yet shootings inch closer to my doorstep.

My heart goes out to the friends and family of Richard Bailey.

More Light Rail Imaginings

2008-10-12T08:30:00.006-04:00

Apparently, there's something in the air in Pine Hills. Another resident of my 'hood reported his musings of light rail after our mayor uttered those two sweet words at last week's AMD hoopla.

Here's what Casey Seiler had to say in his TU commentary the other day:

I asked Jennings what the announcement would mean for my beloved Pine Hills neighborhood.
"This is going to be great for Albany," said Jennings, who expressed hope that the construction in Malta would make the Harriman Campus the next likely site for a cutting-edge research facility. He added that the time was ripe to revisit plans for a light rail system connecting the Capital Region's urban centers.

Seiler continued:

I tried to imagine a light rail line running south from Malta parallel to the Northway and then taking a wide, smooth turn onto Western Avenue, making a stop a few blocks from my house. Who was that stepping off the train? Why, it was my son, now grown to manhood and gainfully employed as a top engineer.

I chuckled to myself on my morning bus ride heading up Western Avenue. Surely , if Seiler's son was going to be aboard any light rail train from Malta, TQL's daughter would undoubtedly be his engineering colleague winding along that same Pine Hills Express.

He closed his piece with the following:

Several who spoke at the press conference said the Malta plant could herald a new dawn in manufacturing for New York, comparing it to the Erie Canal.
A project which, as my son could tell you, was the light rail of the early 19th Century.

Well, the positive vibe up in Malta last Tuesday didn't seem radiate down to Wall Street throughout the week. It's really too bad that my transit-riding superhero powers only work on public transportation that already exists. In order to turn our collective upstate light rail dream into a reality, the formula will need to include hard cash flowing back into our state's coffers and many more voices clamoring for sustainable transit options beyond the NYC metro region.

Rochester: The Elephant in the Living Room

2008-10-10T07:35:00.001-04:00

Has anyone in the local media asked CDTA executives, their board and government officials how it is possible that during the same month CDTA announced an upcoming 50% fare hike from $1 to $1.50, Rochester dropped its fare down to $1?

Rochester Transit's website might be so 1995, but hey now its bus fare is too. I happen to have an unabashed preference for CDTA's site, and for Rochester's bus fares.

The folks at CDTA might call my newfound fascination/nagging about Rochester an apples to oranges comparison, but is it? If so, please explain. I really want to know.

Thanks to NYC Cowboy, I noticed this editorial in last Sunday's Gazette calling for increased federal funding for public transit. Good. But no mention of Rochester.

I saw this article in the Business Review which I don't think gave me any information I didn't know 10 days earlier. Certainly no mention of Rochester.

The TU reporters have told us about the fare hike, and the TU's editorial board weighed in with an opinion. Yet, I haven't seen the words "Rochester," "CDTA," and "transit" in the same story in my daily local paper, have you?

A little hard to believe TU reporters don't read the NY Times, isn't it?

We know they read AOA -- which is how I found out about Rochester dropping fares to $1.

So c'mon, let's talk about that elephant.

Food and Neighborhood Planning

2008-10-06T07:00:00.013-04:00

My all-time favorite cuisine is Indian food. Love it. Here's the back story:

My mother traveled to India a few times when I was a kid. They were business trips, so my sister and I didn't tag along. Nonetheless, the savory spices of India made their way into our home when I was young and impressionable. This was long before the explosion of inexpensive Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants along East 6th Street in Manhattan, though you could still find a spattering of Indian restaurants in the 1970's, and we did. I have recollections of attending outdoor Indian festivals with sitar music, bright colors everywhere, and the smells coriander and cumin wafting in the air. Visits to the homes of family friends usually included the staples of chapati and daal with samosas for fun and sweet, honey-laden desserts that I ate too quickly to ever learn what they were called. My mom seemed to be the only adult woman not clad in a sari, yet she dressed in silk-screens and batiks made in India, that reflected the fashions of our friends.

Looking back, it doesn't surprise me that Gopal, my very first boyfriend in high school, was from an Indian family. He was a total New York village kid just like me -- but a bit more traditional considering both parents were academics, and they were still together, unlike mine... and unlike about 80% of my friends' parents. We took the D train to school each day, yet our courtship did not begin on the train, but in 9th grade Social Studies class, where I found him irresistably funny - I'm a sucker for intelligent humor. Freshman year, Gope had these huge glasses that covered 1/2 his face, but I could tell hidden under the glasses was a really, really cute boy. On our first date he took me to see a pretty bad horror movie, while most time together was spent hanging out on Greenwich Village stoops, and eating felafel on MacDougal Street.

I was invited to spend a lot of time with Gopal's family. Somehow, it was his Hindu family that introduced this girl of eastern European Jewish stock to the 2nd Avenue Deli's fantastic pastrami -- only in New York. While getting invited to the boyfriend's house did sometimes include kosher food, more often than not, Gopal's disco-dancing mom found the time to cook delicious dishes from her home coastal city of Chennai, the thought of which still makes my mouth water a quarter of a century later.

I first came to Albany in 1986 for college, after graduating, I stayed in town for a while. During my early Albany years, there was only one Indian option in town -- and it was outrageously priced. I was living in Center Square when Shalimar, the first affordable-for-just-out-of-college-folk-without-a-real-job Indian restaurant opened, and I became an immediate regular customer.

Fast forward to the 2000's.

In 2001, I bought a house in Pine Hills. So, where do I find myself going whenever I can afford to soothe my craving for Indian? Most times -- Curry House, though I also love Tandoor Palace. Happily, I live just about 1/2 way between the two. When I sat down with the TU on Sunday, I thought about getting to both of these locations as I read this article about a great proposal to make Madison Avenue between South Allen and Lark Street more bicycle and pedestrian-friendly. Fantastic. From the article:

Now, some residents and business people in the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association want the road reduced from four to two traffic lanes from South Allen to Lark streets with a turning lane and a bicycle lane.
"It's been done in a lot of cities to great effect," said Virginia Hammer, a member of the subcommittee that made the recommendation. "It's time for Albany to get on board with some enlightened ideas. What we need is a more pedestrian-friendly and bicycle-friendly city."

Right on, Virginia Hammer! I walk up and down segments of this stretch of Madison at least twice a week, and I can attest that crossing at intersections is quite a challenge because there's always a turning car. My very unscientific observations also tell me that foot traffic along Madison is on the rise. And while I haven't worked up the guts to bike Albany yet, I recently saw a well-trained biking family I know riding along the sidewalk of Madison Avenue -- clearly because riding in the street is just not safe.

Meanwhile, Muddy Cup owner Jim Svetz, speaks to the frustration of trying to park on Madison in the article:

Jim Svetz has a bird's-eye view of the road from the Muddy Cup, his coffeehouse next to the Madison Theater.
"Everyone who has tried to drive on this road, park on this road, make a left-hand turn on this road, knows it's a good idea," he said. "When you park, you have to wait to get out of your car. You're trapped until all the cars go by. When you try to parallel park, you're doing it in the middle of a high-speed lane."

Exactly. Back in my larger-carbon-footprint-making everyday driving days, I often tried to park on Madison between South Allen and South Main usually to go to Curry House, Muddy Cup, or the CVS. Hard to find a spot. Hard to get out of the car when cars are whirring past you at 30 mph.

If you don't know which official Albany neighborhood you reside in, you can always check the Council of Neighborhood Association (CANA) map here. Pine Hills has this colorful map on their website:

The map doesn't quite match the boundaries on the CANA map, but you know... we're a big, happy family, and I think you can actually join a neighborhood association even if you don't live within its boundaries, but don't quote me on that one!

Come out to view the slide show announced in the TU article:

A slide show on the proposal will be shown at 7 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association meeting at the LaSalle School, 381 Western Ave. The association's members will decide whether to endorse the idea. If they do, the Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations will be asked to back the plan.

And, don't you go thinking that I've forgotten all about CDTA's steep fare hike. I completely agree with this article written by someone who ummm... rides the same bus I do.

Rochester's Transit System has Creative Minds

2008-09-26T16:30:00.016-04:00

Thanks to chrisck's comment on AOA, I read this NY Times article about Rochester's Regional Transit Service (RGRTA), and how they implemented a plan to reduce fares to $1 per bus ride.

The article is interesting on multiple levels, and leaves me questioning more deeply whether CDTA is making the right move with the planned April Fool's fare hike.

In my transit-riding superhero mind, I dream of Plan B from the hardworking CDTA staff that explores some of the strategies used in Rochester, and leads to a decrease in the astronomical fare hike... or even scrapping a hike altogether. A girl can dream, right?

According to the article, Rochester's Transit Authority sees this as a great way to increase ridership:

“With gas prices at record highs, there is no better way to convince people who are beginning to look at public transportation,” said Mark R. Aesch, the chief executive of the Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, which runs the bus system.

And check out this interesting note in the article:

Just four years ago, the Rochester authority was in financial straits and facing large deficits. Since then, it has lobbied successfully for increases in state aid, receiving $32.8 million this year, up from $16 million four years ago. It helps that a local assemblyman, David F. Gantt, is chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.

Ahhh... so is RGRTA receiving significantly more aid per ride than other transit systems of comparable size? My guess is, probably not -- wouldn't the article have noted if aid was disproportionately distributed?

Then there's this deal with Rochester's school district from the article:

One of the most important is with the Rochester City School District, which uses the Regional Transit Service as the primary bus system for nearly all of its students in the 7th through 12th grades. Several years ago, the school district paid the equivalent of a regular fare for each student rider, according to Mr. Aesch. But about three years ago, with the transit system facing a financial crisis, he began discussions with the district about radically altering the arrangement.

Mr. Aesch told school officials that the money they were paying to transport students only partly covered the cost and that the system could no longer afford the service without a significant increase in payments. The school district agreed to an increase, and it now pays about $2.22 for each student ride.

I don't know what the current deal is between CDTA and Albany's school district, but I doubt an increase in transportation costs would fly in Albany where tax payers are already overburdened paying for all those charter schools.

The article mentions these partnerships which I think CDTA could do A LOT MORE OF:

In Rochester, the transit system has also formed agreements with private businesses and colleges. It runs shuttle buses on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology and provides special weekend service to the campus, for which it receives about $1 million a year. The developer of an apartment complex in suburban Brighton pays $1,200 a year to ensure that a bus line runs by the property.
And last week, the Rochester authority announced a new agreement with Bryant & Stratton College, which has two campuses in the area. Under the deal, the college will pay $17,700 in exchange for 350 bus passes that it can distribute at a discount to students. In exchange, transit officials have agreed to continue service on a little-used section of a bus route that goes to the college’s campus in the suburb of Greece, and to run a bus there later in the day for students taking evening classes.

Yes, CDTA does currently have arrangements with our local colleges and universities, I don't know the details, but my guess is there's room within this sector to pull in more bucks.

Rochester's plan does include some service cuts... but so does CDTA's.

And so it goes...the tale of two transit plans:

One includes a 50% increase per ride, bringing the fare well-above the $1 mark.

The other includes a 20% decrease per ride, bringing the fare down to the psychologically sound $1 mark.

Which plan would entice you to choose the bus?

A Frustrating Week in Local Transit

2008-09-26T07:18:00.004-04:00

An old pet peeve of mine, that I was sure was taken care of, never to be seen again - has resurfaced recently.

While most people are panicked about Wall Street crumbling and immersed in the drama of a presidential race that should be a no-brainer, but is bringing our deeply-rooted racism to the surface; I've been stewing over CDTA's return to circular reasoning.

I'm not going to ask why it happened, but I am putting in this request:

Please, CDTA, I don't want to put any more energy into chasing my tail.

Look at your recent media releases, then check out the recent re-route posts on your website, next put on your thinking cap -- or simply copy what other transit systems are doing - like our good friends at Capital Metro!

Here's what you tell us:

Anyone needing more information on the reroutes or other CDTA services is encouraged to contact CDTA’s Customer Information Center at 482-8822 or visit www.cdta.org.

Well then, give us the re-route info someplace on the website, or if you're not going to do that -- stop sending us there for "more information".

In other CDTA news, fares are going up and service is being cut because current formulas for transportation funding are unstable and insufficient. The 50% fare hike likely to take effect on April Fool's Day 2009 will undoubtedly hurt those who depend on transit the most. I'm hoping some organization(s) out there will have the vision to get assistance to folks whose wallets need that money for rising food and home heating costs.

Bus Encounters

2008-09-19T08:15:00.003-04:00

As reported on AOA, CDTA has a new jingle targeting the growing green market.

I sometimes find myself singing it while waiting for the bus.

Here are the lyrics:

I ride the bus
As all my friends do
'Cause it's easy and it's green
And it saves us money too
I ride CDTA
Get on board!

I dig the tune, but the truth is, all of my friends do NOT ride the bus. In actuality, very few friends ride the bus. I can count them on one hand.

I have hopes that the tide is turning.

This summer, I met three people rather randomly who recently moved to Albany for work. Included in the standard new-to-town inquiries of "What brought you here?", "How do you like it so far?", I of course managed to throw in the question, "Do you have a car?"

To which they each answered, "No."

My heart smiled.

I followed up with, "Do you plan on purchasing a car?"

To which they each answered, "No."

The smile grew wider.

I praised their decisions, told them I don't have a car, and let them know it can be tricky, but getting around Albany without every day use of a car can indeed be done.

One of those folks arrived in Albany fresh from Jersey to start teaching an English class at UAlbany. I met him at this bus stop in the middle of August.

It's the Crossgates Mall stop. I tend to get into bus talk here, simply because it's a transfer point for me.

In fact, I must look like the living, breathing FAQ of the stop. Here are some common questions I find myself fielding:

"Do you know when the next bus is coming?"

"How do I get to Crossgates Commons?"

"How do I get back to campus?"

"How do I get to Colonie Center?"

"Do you have to pay for the shuttle?"

"Where does the shuttle go?"

I don't have all the answers, but sometimes I know more than the bus drivers. Anytime I don't have an answer, I give them the 411, which for all things CDTA is: 482-8822.

I tell people about Google Transit and CDTA's Trip Planner, and tell them it's a good idea to use both, and to get to some locations along the Shuttlebug line, use neither.

I give away schedules.

I try to explain how the Shuttle works.

I suggest purchasing a $3 day pass for those who will be taking more than three buses in one day. That one's always tough because by the time they've arrived at Crossgates, they've already paid at least one bus fare.

One classic of Summer 2008 occurred in the late morning a few weeks ago.

There was a new SUNY student sitting on the bench when I arrived. She was carrying her art portfolio on her back, and looked almost desperate, yet very determined.

She asked, "Do you know when the next shuttle to Crossgates Commons will be here? I'm trying to get to Michaels. I've been waiting forever."

My schedule was already in-hand since I wanted to know the answer to that question as well. I told her a bus was scheduled to get there in five minutes, but sometimes they run a little late because this time of day there are fewer shuttles on the road, and they only come about once every forty/ forty-five minutes.

The bus driver taking a cigarette break overheard me. "Really? Wow, I thought they came every 15 minutes. That's what I usually tell people." I explained to him that in early morning and later in the day, he was correct, but the shuttles don't always run that frequently.

There was an older woman who chimed in. Complaining about having to take so many buses.

I put in my two cents about transferring. I have no problem taking more than one bus. To me, that's transit. I do have a problem waiting more than 5 minutes for a connection because it eats away at my time. And I never have enough time.

The older woman was trying to get to Time Warner on Washington Avenue Extension from Troy. She didn't realize the address on Washington Avenue Extension was not Washington Avenue in downtown Albany. She went downtown first to try to find it. She was totally new to the bus thing herself, and frustrated.

The Shuttle pulled in.

We got on. I saw the art student take out a dollar to pay. Before she put her cash in the fare box I asked, "You're a SUNY student aren't you?"

"Yeah," of course, I knew that already.

"You don't have to pay on this bus or on a few other buses either. Just show your ID."

"Wow, thanks."

There was another passenger who was going to Party City, and hoping to be gainfully employed along Washington Avenue Extension, so she asked the driver for a schedule. She wanted to know where to get off the bus. I told her to stay on board until Wal-Mart and explained how to find Party City.

I showed her how to read the schedule because it's confusing. She thanked me.

The SUNY student watched out the window as the bus was arriving at Crossgates Commons. "Oh my god, it's so close. I could have walked!"she said.

The mom in me responded, "It's better to take the bus, there are no sidewalks and it can be really dangerous."

She asked me how to get to Michaels once she got off the bus. We talked about how she'd get back to campus. She had a class at noon, and she was hoping she'd make it.

When she got off the bus, she thanked me.

Immediately after her departure, Julie, the bus driver asked me, "How did you know she was a SUNY student?"

I explained that we'd been talking before Julie pulled up in the shuttle and I could tell by her questions.

When we were approaching Time Warner, the older woman asked, "So the bus will pick me up here?"

Oops, I had forgotten to mention that aspect of the Shuttle!

Julie and I answered together, "You have to call."

See, if you aren't taking the Shuttle to one of the destinations marked on the schedule, you need to call and request a pick-up.

I showed her the phone number printed on the schedule, wished her luck and we said goodbye. And yes, she thanked us.

When I arrived at my office, I had that feeling of inner satisfaction, the feeling that I'd put in a good day's work even though I hadn't yet sat at my desk, turned on my pc, or checked my phone for messages!

Roger Green's Transit Tips

2008-09-15T21:34:00.008-04:00

I'm lucky to know Roger Green. He's one of those people I run into just about everywhere I go, and he authors a few good blogs.

On his TU blog, Roger posted some great tips for all of you new folks experimenting with CDTA (and maybe some of you who have been riding for a while, but haven't caught on to some of the finer points). Check it out.

Roger also points out out:

Citizens for Public Transportation will meet this Wednesday evening, September 17, 7:00 PM, at the Albany Public Library, Washington Avenue.
Guest Speaker, Paula Simpson, will address Environmental Justice and Availability. A CDTA representative will attend.

I don't think this transit-riding superhero can make the meeting -- but surely there will be good bus chat at APL this Wednesday.

Casey Seiler Survived the Summer

2008-09-12T07:18:00.007-04:00

I don't have a bicycle.

Not true, I do have one, but it's not operational. The old 10-speed I was given as a birthday present when I turned 13 - boys', I insisted on a boys' bike - is gathering dust in my basement. But I wouldn't trust that one, or won't trust myself on that bike - traversing this region.

I've been meaning to get a new bike- even a new, used bike from the Troy Bike Rescue in downtown Albany (akin to Manhattan College in the Bronx) - but it hasn't happened. There's one big thing holding me back: Fear.

Seilier's piece today got me thinking it's time to get over that fear. Things are looking up.

It's Primary Day - Polls are Open Noon - 9

2008-09-09T05:46:00.006-04:00

When I turned 18, I was so excited to finally register to vote, yet I didn't want to be affiliated with one political party. If I recall at first, I was not. When my dad got wind of what I'd done, he sat me down and explained that here in NYS, if you want to have a real voice at the polls, enrolling in a party is the way to go. I took his advice. I don't think it's hard to guess which party when you put the pieces together...
I live in Albany
+ originally from NYC
+ I use public transit.
= ________________(Not so hard to figure out).

I show up and cast my vote. I think it's genetic.

I'm what they call a "triple prime voter" which means I vote every single time I have the opportunity - general elections, primaries, special elections, school budget and library votes. And yes, I take my daughter with me - as does her dad.

Candidates work really hard to get us triple primes to vote their way. This summer, in the 21st Congressional District where I live there's a 5-way congressional race - with 4 candidates who have very similar positions. This means I've been bombarded with mail pieces, robo-calls, and calls from volunteers. I've even been home a couple of times when folks came to my door -- though it's hard to find me home during canvassing hours because I'm often out myself volunteering for the candidate I think is best.

I dig elections.

If you're enrolled in a party - you can join the triple primes today. If you don't know where to vote, call your county's Board of Elections.

Exercise your rights. Vote today. Polls are open from noon until 9.

A Tip for Bus Travel on Labor Day

2008-08-31T12:30:00.011-04:00

CDTA announced buses will run on a Sunday/ Holiday schedule on Labor Day.

Those in the know, know CDTA's Sunday schedule is skeletal.

The last time I was in town for a holiday to use CDTA when buses operated on a Sunday/Holiday schedule was Memorial Day. I tried to schedule an errand using Trip Planner, and if I had followed the tool's recommendations, I would have waited and waited all day long. Trip Planner directed me to one of the many routes that don't run on Sundays.

I decided to try to live up to my transit riding super-hero title (thanks again, All Over A lbany, the source for all-things-interesting about this region, including the daily Morning Blend for those who don't want to scour the day's news all by yourself; they're also the good people who I umm... lifted the above photo from) and run a test before the holiday to provide those folks in town who ride the bus and depend on one of the two online planning tools some sound advice.

The advice:

DON'T USE EITHER GOOGLE TRANSIT OR TRIP PLANNER TO MAP OUT YOUR BUS RIDES AROUND AND ABOUT THE CAPITAL REGION ON LABOR DAY 2008.

Instead, to plan your bus trip, do one of the following:

Call CDTA's information line: 482-8822 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. today or Monday.
Use a combination of the CDTA system map and schedules to plan your outing. Remember to check whether the routes you need actually operate on Sundays by checking each route schedule. Schedules are accessible directly on the system map by clicking anyplace you see a circled route number on the map.

Curious about the results of my test of Google Tranist and Trip Planner?
Testing was run Saturday night and Sunday morning for trips scheduled on Monday, September 1.
Trip Planner results
Unlike Memorial Day, CDTA's Trip Planner didn't leave me waiting on the corner for a bus that wouldn't show up. Instead they disabled all route information for September 1, even for the routes that will be operating. So, unless CDTA's IT staff is going to make last minute changes, using Trip Planner on Monday is not a wise choice.

Google Transit results
It doesn't look as though Google Transit got the memo from CDTA about Labor Day bus service. Every trip I entered for Monday gave me info for regular Monday service, with every route in the system operating. Now, I still might use Google Transit on Monday is to see if their walking alternative is more viable than the abysmal Sunday bus service!

CDTA's Hip Hip HooRAY!

2008-08-28T11:30:00.001-04:00

About a month ago, it dawned on me --I am an official "public transportation geek."

The clue that tipped me off was the enthusiasm with which I nodded my head while sitting in an empty room and watching the online video of CDTA's July board meeting - something Executive Director, Ray Melleady said had been right on target. You've got to be really into transit to sit through a board meeting of your Transit Authority.

So, you can probably imagine my excitement when I returned home Sunday night at 9 p.m. - exhausted from driving the rental car I had over the weekend to get out of town and enjoy the Adirondacks for a couple of days - I opened my Sunday Times Union to see Ray Melleady's piece on the front page of the Perspective section.

I couldn't wait to see what Ray had to say.

It was filled with good stuff, and he drove it all home with my favorite part right here:

This is a direct call to elected officials, business leaders, chambers of commerce, labor unions and transit managers. If you are serious about energy independence and conservation, we need to advocate for the authorization of new public policy and funding initiatives that reward communities for developing a strong public transportation infrastructure.

The communities that get it right will grow and prosper. The ones that get it wrong will shrink and preside over a slow and steady decline.

When I finished reading, it left me wondering how often Ray rides the bus.

You can actually watch Ray give a lesson on how to ride the bus by clicking here (go to the "More from Ray..." box on the upper right side of the page, you'll need Windows Media Player to view - then click on the "Frequently Asked Questions" link ) -- this video was definitely made before Google Transit came to town, and doesn't even mention the Trip Planner; still it conveys some very useful info. Also check out the Welcome Message link at the same location where Ray introduces viewers to the website... via the website. Yeah -- kinda on the silly side that you need to go to the website in order to watch the video highlighting their site improvements. This video was made a while ago as well, again it doesn't mention Trip Planner or Google Transit, and Ray spends some needless time discussing their branding and the color blue (really, not necessary in retrospect, but I'm sure at the time of the shoot, the marketing folks and management were keen on the big change to blue buses). My favorite of the two is definitely the FAQ video -- the intro music pulls me right into the video and onto the bus.

Speaking of CDTA's marketing efforts, I've noticed a bunch of new interior CDTA ads on the bus. My favorites are some great ads introducing CDTA employees (unfortunately, I couldn't find any samples on the CDTA website to link to, but I recall bus operators and mechanics -- I, of course, am waiting to see the one that introduces Dolly!) ; the ads also act as a "want ad" for employees and push the concept of "working green". Then yesterday, I happened to look up on the bus and noticed the interior was plastered with CDTA ads -- some of them should have been placed more carefully because there were instances where the same bus rider would view just one ad multiple times. I noticed one ad promoting safety on the bus and another directing riders to check out the CDTA website -- which I think is a great idea. Good work, CDTA. I'm hoping to see more ads that direct riders to specific aspects of the site, like Google Transit, Trip Planner, Service Alerts and the News Center.

Growing up in NYC, the advertising on the inside of subway cars and buses was just as prevalent as the advertising everyplace else in the city. I remember as a kid and a teenager, spending much of my transit time checking out all of the ads on the trains and buses. I also recall teenage boys I knew who dug the Preparation H ads so much, they would take them home and post on their bedroom walls! (I searched for a sample old ad to enhance this post, but couldn't find one -- if you can, send it my way!)

I think CDTA is missing opportunities to increase revenue a bit by selling more ads on the interior of buses and at bus shelters -- and you'd think all those new buses equipped with cameras will prevent adolescents and frat boys running off with interior decorations.

P.S. Clean up after yourselves...

2008-08-19T17:19:00.008-04:00

There are times when I have oh, ten minutes or so to wait for a connecting bus at Crossgates, and I'm starving. Not enough time to run inside, grab some food, sit and eat it and then run outside to catch the bus. Nope. Not enough time. Besides...who wants mall food court food anyway -- even when you're starving?

That's how I felt before I discovered Full Mi Belly, the relatively new Jamaican joint at the food court. Yumyumyum.

Eating is a no-no on the bus. But it's done.

Sometimes, when I have that lag for a connecting bus at Crossgates I'll run inside, grab a small jerk chicken with rice and peas and cabbage for $5.99 plus tax. Then run outside to catch the bus I need. I'm sitting on the bus, starving, with the smell of outstanding jerk chicken wafting before me, and a growling stomach. I can't take it -- I have to have just a little. So, yes, even I have guiltily eaten on the bus. But I always make sure that I don't leave a mess behind me!
This mess includes chicken bones I found on the bus before 10 a.m. one morning this summer!
Don't be nasty.

Since my last post had 9 birthday wishes, I was thinking 10 is a much better number. 10 is nice and round. There's a completeness to a list of 10 things. To add to my list of "big 4-0" birthday wishes, this one's for those of you on the bus with me.

Wish List - My Fellow Bus Riders

We bond over missed buses, we share schedule information, we talk about possible fair hikes and we freeze outside together in the winter... so let's be respectful of our shared space and...

1. If you MUST eat on the bus, clean up after yourselves.

A "transit-riding superhero" * Turns 40 Thursday

2008-08-19T11:57:00.002-04:00

Yup, I'm turning 40 in a couple of days --I was shocked reading All Over Albany last week to find that my 40th is within just a few days of the 40th birthday of a Capital Region celebrity of sorts. I think I'm old enough now and I'm certainly bold enough now to ask for a few gifts. Do what you can, for me, k?

[*Note: the title "transit-riding superhero" is thanks to the very good folks at All Over Albany]

Wish List - Drivers

Hey Drivers,
This is coming from someone who really enjoys driving. You're operating a vehicle, moving from one place to another so please...

1. Share the road with bicyclists. I think we have enough ghost bikes in our region.

2. Respect pedestrians. About a month after I started my no-driving experiment, I came within inches of being hit while crossing a Central Avenue intersection with my daughter (we were on our way to a bus stop and then to a rental car company to pick up a car) . The driver who was making a left turn onto Central at a green light was extremely apologetic. He got out of his car, and ran across the busy street (almost getting hit himself) to be sure we were ok. However, not all drivers are as concerned about pedestrians' well-being.

3. Along the same lines as 2, above. Turning on red (right on red or left from a one-way to a one-way), is not a free pass to simply slow down to 5 or 3 or even 1 mph and slowly coast through an intersection. The light is still red. Red still means stop. Completely stop. Oh, yeah... and before you pull ahead, be sure the coast is clear.

Wish List - CDTA

CDTA, I feel like I'm your big sister, two years older than you, I'm holding your hand and pulling you along. While, I certainly have a long list of wishes for you -- below are the top 3 items on my wish list.

1. Improve the abysmal Sunday service . It looks like you recognize the need for improvements as Monday's article about your proposal to re-vamp Schenectady's service pointed out,

" 'There are certain routes on our system that don't stop after 6 or 7 p.m., and some don't run on Sundays,' said spokeswoman Margo Janack. 'People who may want to attend religious services, people who want to shop after work at night or catch some entertainment somewhere -- they may not be able to do that by bus because the service doesn't extend that far or run for that long.'

The current hours also often fall short for people who work night and weekend shifts."

Eureka! You do see that those of us without cars need to get around on Sundays too! Yes, funding is tight, but this is the state's Capital Region and it is certainly reasonable to expect good transit service seven days per week, at least once per hour in each direction from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m.

2. Post schedules at all stops and shelters so we know when to expect a bus. It seems that a year ago there were many more schedules posted. Recently, sleeker shelters were installed and nobody bothered to re-post schedules. If funds aren't available in your budget to pay staff to do the posting, this seems like a project that could be accomplished by volunteer bus riders and/or partnerships with volunteers from local non-profits.

3. Follow up with riders' complaints. I know I've called the customer information line to complain at least one time since the posting of the Complaint Process flow chart dated September 2007, provided my name and phone number and said, "I'd like someone to call me back with information." I never received a phone call back. In addition to the flow chart, you also state in the How To Ride section of the site, "We will investigate your complaint and report back to you in writing within 10 working days." Do what you say.

Wish List for Regional Planners, Politicians and other Transit-related Decision Makers

Hey folks, it's great that Albany is now working on our first-ever Comprehensive Plan, and excellent that the TU has started the Capital Region at a Crossroads series and blog -- now let's get something done. Here are my suggestions:

1. Make life easier for those that tread lightly on the environment: (i) give us bike lanes across the cities and throughout the region, (ii) enforce sidewalk shoveling ordinances in the winters to keep our sidewalks clear of snow and ice, and (iii) invest in sidewalks in areas where there are none.

2. Be good to my younger sibling, CDTA. Invest in transit and transit-oriented development - let's face it - transit is part of the solution for today's fiscal and energy realities. And bring me something faster than buses to get from city to city to city to city, and from the cities to some of our beautiful outlying areas.

3. Let's start a non-profit car sharing company. I really think non-profit is the way to go -- check out why Austin went non-profit with Austin Car Share and even little Ithaca, NY launched a non-profit car sharing company this past June!

... and maybe I'll see you on the bus.

Hello, Dolly!

2008-08-08T05:06:00.007-04:00

In case you didn't read all about it, the TU sent a few good reporters out on assignment to give our bus service a whirl. The article stirred considerable response including Pantaloons' excellent workaround when things don't go as planned (read the post then scroll down to the comment- it's worth it) thanks to All Over Albany , a number of reader responses on the TU Crossroads blog, Roger Green's Zen and the Art of Bus Riding, a CDTA Board member who gave the newspaper a piece of his mind (available for your viewing pleasure on the CDTA website - the July 30 meeting - about 32 minutes into the meeting), and some rather lively discussions on the bus -- imagine that!

What was I doing during all of this hubbub?

Soaking it all in, of course.

One of the very first responses I had to the article was a strong agreement with Margo Janack and Carm Basile, two CDTA spokes-folk. From the original article:

"Mainly, Janack and Basile wanted to know this: Why didn't our bold investigators just pick up the phone and call the authority's Customer Information Center before heading out?

The number, they note, is listed in the phone book, posted at bus stops, printed on schedules and displayed on the Web site."

Exactly. 482-8822. I love that number. Calling the CDTA information line when I'm on my way to a bus stop, waiting at a bus stop, and even on a bus has helped me many times.

It was a few months ago when I overheard a conversation between bus riders about service. One said to the other something like this, "Oh, when I didn't catch that bus I spoke to Dolly and she told me ...."

I chimed in, "What?"

My fellow rider responded, "Oh, Dolly -- on the information line. She's worked there forever."

I try to be personable. To get to know people. To at least take note when I'm on the phone with an operator that they too are human. But, I had never retained the names of the helpful people on the other end of the customer information line in my memory bank. Probably because most of the times that I've called, I've been rather frustrated.

Since that day, I've paid closer attention when my call is answered, and sometimes, I too speak with Dolly.

The other day, I was running late. So late, that I didn't even check the bus schedule before leaving the house because I just didn't want to know. I dropped my daughter off at camp, and headed towards Western Avenue. As I was walking across Main towards Madison, it happened again.

I saw a bus driving west along Western Avenue -- and I thought a really bad word to myself. I had missed a bus.

My mind started to work, "Now I'm probably going to have to wait a while or maybe it'd be faster to walk over to Washington Avenue and catch that line. Wait... could it be possible that was not the bus line I even wanted?? Sometimes there is that other line that runs up Western..."

I didn't want to go into my bag and start fumbling through the bus schedules. It was just too much work. It also slows me down. I decided to call for help.

Dolly answered.

"Oh, hi Dolly -- I've got a couple of questions."

First I asked her if that bus I missed could possibly be the one I really didn't need, the Number 11.

"No," she said without a pause, "The Number 11 doesn't even run this time of day."

Ok... so, when is the next Number 10?

"They run every 20 minutes."

Ok. I knew that, really. They tell me every time I call. It can be hard to keep it all on the front burner though. Well, not for Dolly.

What about the Number 30... going towards Washington Avenue from Western? She checked. That bus rarely runs, and I had missed it. I asked when the next Washington Avenue bus was.

Dolly told me, and I realized I'd be cutting it too close if I tried to walk over there.

The twenty minutes (by this time, much closer to 15 minutes) would go by quickly if I waited on the bench at the stop on Western and Allen and read my newspaper.

I couldn't help myself, "Thank you Dolly, you're a doll!"

She laughed. Poor woman, she probably gets that ALL THE TIME.

Finding a good match

2008-08-05T08:15:00.002-04:00

My friend once shared some words of wisdom that she got from her grandfather.

They went something like this, "You know you've found the right person to marry if he makes your life easier!"

I've kept that in mind over the years... haven't gotten married as relationships have always seemed to complicate my life; never have they made things easier.

Then came August 1, 2008. The go-live date for Google Transit in Albany.

Already GT is on the right track.

Saturday morning when I was pondering getting to the gym to take a class that I really do enjoy, GT gave me a couple of bus options. The shortest option: about 40 minutes of travel time; he also gave me the option to walk: about 50 minutes of travel time. Not much difference. And that was just to GET to the gym. Then there was the hour of class time, and the travel time back home which I didn't calculate on GT because he hasn't quite worked out how to present that info as cleanly as the sometimes-tedious, rather cumbersome CDTA Trip Planner does.

I assessed the one-way information Google Transit gave me.

I made a decision.

Not to be to cliché, but yes, I changed my mind.

I decided to make good, productive use of that 40-50 minute one-way travel time by doing something at home on my very long list of things to do.

After the 40 - 50 minutes passed by, I put on my running shoes, stretched, and went for run (ok, a jog) around the gorgeous lake at Washington Park. Ran for a good 44 minutes right back to my doorstep, with no added travel time home.

Google Transit made my life easier. I'd say we're off to a very nice start.

CDTA now links to Google Maps (you can actually get to Google Transit as an option in Google Maps) directly from their site as well as to Google's how-to video. Good partnerships make happy travelers.

I'm not rushing into things with GT though; that's never a good idea. He only got to town a few days ago, and we're just getting to know each other... but, hey GT was only in beta on Saturday, which means it can only get betta, right?

Getting to the Fair

2008-07-22T22:39:00.008-04:00

One of the many things I've grown to love about living in Albany during the summer is hitting the Altamont Fair. I love traipsing through the mud (somehow there's always mud), putting my kid on rickety rides and visiting the all those stinky, happy and sometimes noisy (did you ever visit the poultry barn? zoinks. they are loud!) farm animals. There were years when I drove a car there (including one I'll never forget, where I got stuck in traffic like I'd never ever seen in upstate NY and my car over-heated), and there were years where I took the bus, sat back and relaxed, and enjoyed the ride... and it was free.

Then there was last year...when I didn't make it to the Altamont Fair because there was no bus service. Period.

I've been waiting to learn whether buses would venture to our tri-county fair this year, and before going to sleep tonight I decided to have a gander at the Altamont Fair website... to my surprise there was news. Good news. I then ventured over to my friends at CDTA to confirm... and to try to clarify this part of the announcement on the Altamont Fair site:

Purchase a CDTA Day Card for only $3 that provides one day unlimited use and includes round trip service from Crossgates Mall to the Altamont Fair.

Hmmm... does that mean the only way they'll take me on the shuttle is if I purchase an additional $3 pass for myself and each kid I have with me even if I already have a 7-day monthly pass for myself and Summer Fun Pass for my daughter? I sure hope not.

The CDTA press release was issued on Monday 7/21, I don't think there was coverage in today's TU. It's after 11 p.m. now, so I won't get my answer calling the CDTA customer information line at this hour. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the professionals over at the TU will do more than reprint the details of the press release, and let us know if our passes will be usable. I hope to see some fleshed out news when I pick that paper up off my porch in the a.m. , and if not... it'll be time for a bit of research from one of us on the bus.

Sunday Sampling

2008-07-21T08:00:00.008-04:00

My sister lives in the neighborhood where we grew up. She rides her bike all over the city and she loves it. I was on the phone with her Sunday evening as I was walking down to Lincoln Park pool to go for a swim -- hoping I would beat the incoming thunderstorms -- and I did. It was a glorious swim.

My sis asked me why I didn't try bike riding around Albany, she was thinking it would clearly save time getting around - she's right of course, though I keep thinking about all those hills in this town. I also spared her the details of my fear of things like this horror that happened to Roger, or worse... and say, "yeah, I know lots of people who do ride their bikes around here, I should invest in one!"

CDTA has a system map - available in old-school hard copy style or on the website where you can zoom, click and get schedule information. It's very colorful, and fun. When I look at that map, I have visions of a robust system carrying satisfied riders throughout our region.

Then I remember that while there are lots of routes, when you subtract those that are only commuter routes, then subtract those that only run on weekdays, then subtract those that don't run on Sundays - the colorful lines traveling throughout the region look rather drab on Sunday.

Yes, there's still some service.

I looked at the CDTA buses listed in Albany - there are 35 on the list, even though one or two of them don't actually go into the city of Albany. Of those 35 "Albany" bus lines, there are a whopping ELEVEN that actually run on Sundays.

How bizarre is it that over at the TU's Capital Region at the Crossroads blog people are arguing about the viability of light rail and the general use of public transit by suburban-minded folks, while there are plenty of people in city neighborhoods who don't have basic transportation available to them seven days per week? If you live in the up-and-coming Delaware Avenue neighborhood, you can walk to the movies or take a stroll for ice cream, but you can't catch a bus on the main drag on Sundays.

Here's the short list of "Albany" buses that actually run on Sundays:
The 1 (Central Avenue from downtown Albany to Colonie Center)
The 7 (from downtown Albany to Glenmont Wal-Mart)
The 8 (called "Arbor Hill" this route connects the South End and Arbor Hill and has a little stint on Washington Avenue between Main and Quail streets)
The 10 (Western Avenue bus from downtown to Crossgates)
The 11 (UAlbany Shuttle -- non University folks are allowed on the bus)
The 12 (Washington Avenue bus - from downtown to Crossgates and on Sundays takes you to Wal-Mart at Crossgates Commons)
The 13 (New Scotland Avenue - from downtown Albany to Slingerlands Price Chopper)
The 14 (Rensselaer/Third St./ Amtrak - goes from downtown Albany all the way to Averill Park-- hmmm, looking at the route for Sundays looks like this line overlooks Averill Park on Sundays, but at least you can get to Amtrak from Albany by bus on a Sunday)
The 22 - (Albany/ Troy via Watervliet)
The 55 (Albany- Schenectady via Route 5 - aka Central Avenue/ State Street)
The Shuttlefly (Colonie Center, Albany International Airport and Route 7)

Now, if you're going to be out past oh, 6:45 or so... your choices for bus service narrow even more leaving only these six lines running...1, 8, 11, 12, 22, 55.

Thinking back to my conversation with my sister, getting a bike on the road could lead to more productive Sundays for me, and bike lanes to make riding throughout the city more safe, might get me out on the bike sometime. I sure hope Albany's first comprehensive plan maps out some bike lanes.

School Buses, Crossroads and Three Kids on the Bus

2008-07-13T11:00:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, the TU published a letter from a Clifton Park fellow who's thinking creatively. He proposed suburban folk run errands on yellow school buses throughout the day to save personal gas money and also contribute to their towns' tax bases. An interesting concept, and one that has apparently been tried before...in fact, here's a study published in 1999 on that very topic.

Capital Region suburbanites choosing yellow buses over their personal vehicles doesn't strike me as something that would actually happen. Let's see what kind of dialog is explored via the TU's Capital Region at a Crossroads series and blog.

Speaking of buses, I bought my nine year old daughter a CDTA Summer Fun Pass for the 2nd year in row. $17 for two months of rides is quite a deal if your child will be getting around via public transportation. Though the kid prefers car rides, when Mom's the parent in charge, the choice is bus or foot travel.

Friday, I picked her and two friends up from camp at 1:00 p.m. I gave them multiple options for afternoon activities: going swimming at Lincoln Park pool or Mater Christi pool, walking to the transitional baby Pine Hills branch of APL and filling out their reading records for the Summer Reading Program, spending some time at the NYS Museum, visiting a park, or taking a "bus adventure" -- they all voted for the very nebulous "bus adventure." My only plan in place for this was purchasing 2 $3 day passes for the friends, and taking them on at least 3 rides to be sure I got my money's worth -- anything else about the adventure remained tbd.

Highs and Lows of the Adventure

A Walk to the Muddy Cup from camp to fuel up on coffee, where I run into a friend I've been meaning to contact because of her wealth of information about one of my too- many- volunteer-projects. The kids and I hang out on the comfy Muddy couches for a while.

Catch a bus for a quick ride home to drop off lots of camp bags. Purchase the 2 $3 passes for the rest of the adventure.

The girls keep themselves occupied with hand-clapping chants and games while we wait and wait for the Number 4 heading downtown. I wish I'd brought something to read! When the bus arrives, I give a quick tutorial on how to use their passes. A friend of mine is already on board-- we chat about parenting, work and summer happenings.

Get off at Lark and Washington for Destination Number 1: Crisan for must-have gelato. (Thank you All Over Albany for introducing this fabulous spot to us!)

One of the kids is hopeful that a book she ordered is finally at the Main Branch of APL. We walk over to the library, and while the ordered book is still "on order" the three kids find a spot on the floor in the corner of the children's room-- each set of eyes glued to a book they've found on the shelf. It seems nobody remembers that the plan was a bus adventure, which is just fine with me. Eventually, we head downstairs and they pick a dvd to watch for the evening's sleepover. We find ourselves still at the library for last-call-at-the-checkout-counter, leaving a few minutes before 6 p.m., just as a Number 2 is pulling up to the Washington Avenue Armory bus stop.

I know these kids have never taken the Number 2, making the new-ness an adventure in itself. I give a quick re-cap on how to swipe a bus pass. As a mom, I do have an ulterior motive -- my kiddo has a birthday party to attend the next day, so taking the Number 2 to the last stop serves the practical and the adventurous.

The walk from the bus to the re-designed Colonie Center is the safest walk I've taken from a street bus stop to a mall since I started this Capital Region bus riding thing last May.

Typical mall experience. My kid has to go to the bathroom -twice in 10 minutes, one of her friends is "starving", my daughter and I can't agree on where to purchase the birthday gift, we're accosted by the people who sell dead sea skin products, and the other kid really wants a piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. We settle our issues, and I decide we're buying dinner at Friendly's, and we'll grab a piece of cheesecake "to go" on our way back to the bus.

All is well at Friendly's, while the service is slow. 2 kids decide they'll get ice cream after dinner, the other one holding out for her cheesecake.

I check the time. 7:53. I check the bus schedule. Next Number 2 pulls out of Wolf Road at 8:15... and after that there isn't another Number 2 until 9:50 -- too late for me and three young girls to be taking the bus. To catch the 8:15, we cannot walk out of Friendly's after 8:03. The waitstaff hasn't yet taken the ice cream order.

I have both the 1 and the 55 schedules with me, yet, I have no clue about whether either of them stop at the Wolf Road side of Colonie Center, CDTA's customer information line has been closed for 53 minutes and I don't want to "wing" trying to catch a different bus line just so they can indulge in mediocre ice cream and cheesecake. (I called the helpful customer information line on Saturday and learned the Number 1 stops at the Wolf Road side, but not the 55 -- that, you still need to catch on Central Avenue.)

I'm surprised to find these kids, who are not used to scheduling their lives around a bus, are incredibly good sports about the change and will wait until next time for the ice cream and cheese cake. I feel like a responsible grown-up since they already had Crisan's amazing gelato.

Same bus driver on the Number 2 back downtown, remembers us and remarks, "You still have your crew." The kids have become pros at swiping those passes.

We manage to get downtown in time to run the very short block and 1/2 and catch the 8:40 Number 3 at the "Quail and Central" stop. In truth, we're running to the stop where the driver takes a break on Quail between Bradford and West Streets, and our run adds to the adventure.

We get home well before 9 p.m. -- perfect timing to watch that dvd borrowed from the library.

At the end of the day, I spent more money than I'd hoped to, the kids had fun, and nobody complained that we were taking the bus. All in all, a fine adventure around Albany.

Will Car Sharing come to the Capital Region?

2008-07-09T19:00:00.005-04:00

I've got a friend who throws ideas around with me... most of the time we talk Albany City politics and quality of life issues facing the folks in our neighborhoods.

Sometimes though, our conversations head in an entrepreneurial direction, we dream that American Dream. We consider ways we might strike it rich.

When our conversations sway toward making money, my friend's husband affectionately refers to us as "Lucy and Ethel". He's got a point, we probably aren't destined to be big money makers.

Now, here's an idea for a business that Lucy and Ethel are not going to start, but somebody really should.

Open a car sharing business in Albany. (To learn about car sharing, click here or here)

Click here for a guide to help you get started.

Between all the college students, the price of gas, and those of us who don't have cars -- car sharing is a business that has got to be lucrative. I mean look at this headline from a Zipcar press release:

In Wake of High Gas Prices and Low Car Sales, Zipcar Grows 100% During Past 12 Months

New Survey Shows Americans Ditching Cars at Record Pace

Read the whole release by clicking here.

Car sharing would also be an innovative service to contract to non-profits who serve people without cars, but who need a car for errands from time to time.

Car sharing, however would not be a viable option to get folks to work every day at those places where public transportation is currently lacking, places like...
CDPHP and Gutptill's Arena.
For that, we still need better public transportation planning and the funding to support it!

And you probably wouldn't want to drive the car you're paying an hourly rate to use to drive to the Altamont Fair and leave it parked there while you play for hours. Will CDTA provide service to the Altamont Fair this year? Last year, the fair nixed bus riders with a last minute no-service announcement... so far this year, I've heard no news of whether buses will be taking folks to frolic at the fair.

But hey, our friends in our "sister city" of sorts, Austin, Texas have got it right... they have an organization called: liveable city: Quality of Life for All of Austin that unanimously passed this resolution in 2006 for a pilot car sharing program. (I recommend reading the resolution in its entirety, they make a good case for a non-profit car sharing pilot program in Austin.) It looks like Austin CarShare is doing well, and is non-profit; leading me to think if you want to make your million, don't open a for-profit car sharing business in our region because a non-profit will be more likely to stay local, provide lower prices and serve the community better!

Albany is to Austin as CDTA is to Capital Metro?

2008-06-23T08:12:00.000-04:00

If you've been around this region for a little while, you've probably heard comparisons to Austin, Texas. Not because of the climate, the natural resources, or the mayor, but because of Austin's growth and expansion in the tech sector which started in the 1980's. As a matter of fact, a bunch of folks from NY's Capital Region took a field trip to Austin in 2003, and gathered some information. There's the still-unfolding Sematech story, of course, as well as buzz in the nano industry about what that tiny technology is doing for Albany and Austin.

What about Austin's public transporation?

Currently they've got buses, with big plans for expanding into train service.

I'm sure the good folks at CDTA and CDTC are keeping abreast of trends in transportation. As a matter of fact, Austin's Capital Metro website has many of the same features as CDTA's site.

Here's something they have that we don't.

A new blog run by the staff at Capital Metro -- sounds daring to me. Meanwhile, I can't imagine CDTA planning to launch a blog when the board's governance committee recommended at the last board meeting to stick to the status quo and keep their meetings running without a public comment period. You can watch the video of that entire meeting on the CDTA website. BTW, Austin's Capital Metro board meetings do have public comment periods, with lots of rules.

AND HEY! National Dump the Pump Day was June 19th.

Over 100 transit agencies, including our very own, participated in the push to entice consumers to choose public transportation over personal vehicles. From Washington State to Kansas and the Ozarks to Florida, transit organizations provided facts and gave away lots of rides, cookies and even cash to willing participants.

CDTA is giving folks in our region until today, June 23 to enter to win free rides -- and you don't have to be a new rider to enter. Read all about it here, and I hope you are one of the lucky winners so we can catch up on the bus!

CDTA Dismantles Circular Reasoning in Time for the Truckers

2008-06-17T18:24:00.007-04:00

I'm in the habit of checking the TU website periodically throughout the day. A few minutes ago, I noticed a headline on the newspaper's re-designed home page, "Truckers rally reroutes buses". The article gives some general information about the reroutes, and notifies the public that "CDTA supervisors will be stationed downtown to help customers with boarding." Cool. The article also refers the public to CDTA's Customer Information Line or the CDTA website for more information.

Just eight days ago, I ranted about CDTA's circular reasoning when it came to notifying the public of bus reroutes.

So, when I went to the website, I assumed it would be more of the same circular reasoning.

But no.

The service alert announcing reroutes for Thursday's Truckers-in-town included the reroute details for each of the affected bus lines in the press release, posted right on the website for riders to view.

Never mind that it uses the phrase "staging area" which I cannot write without hearing Donald Rumsfeld's voice in the back of my head.

It's great to have the information with a couple of clicks -- thank you CDTA!

Dreaming of Light Rail

2008-06-16T06:51:00.010-04:00

The long bus commute is taking its toll on me.

The 40 minutes to an hour each way is time that could be spent much more productively, especially when it would take only 15 minutes each way driving! If I drove to work, I'd have more time to try to pick up that freelance work I really need so the bills get paid, or catch up on one of the ten volunteer projects I've fallen behind on, or clean my house, mow the lawn and do laundry.

Then I spend about 10 seconds contemplating the jump back into the daily car culture --the upfront purchase cost of a vehicle, the cost of insurance, upkeep, and the rising price of gasoline. Meanwhile, I'm in no position to purchase a hybrid, so I pile on the guilt associated with my carbon footprint. This is no time for me to return to car ownership, upkeep and daily gas guzzling.

Today's TU Getting There column and All Over Albany's reference to this article in the Saratogian got me thinking about car pooling. There are folks I could car pool to work with, but my schedule is so erratic, I don't see it as a viable option for me right now.

In reality, I long for the well-functioning good service of my truly beloved MTA subway lines.

There's been chit chat here, there and everywhere about how this region is ripe for some light rail. Supposedly, CDTA's Bus Rapid Transit (go to p. 3 for story) (BRT) would run "similarly" to light rail, though I don't buy it for a minute since the buses will still be subject to traffic and stop lights.

I may have been dreaming one recent Saturday morning at 6:30, when my daughter woke up early and flicked on the T.V. Someone whom I believe to be Joe Condon was interviewing Mayor Jennings. I don't know what channel it was, and I wondered whether we finally now have public access TV here in Albany, but I don't think that's what I was seeing. During my absolute favorite part of the interview our Mayor mentioned how there's been discussion of putting a light rail in on Western Avenue!

What?

Was I dreaming or might this actually happen? Could Albany enter the 21st Century before the first decade is up?

The Adventure to Patroon Creek

2008-06-14T09:42:00.013-04:00

I had some personal business to take care of at CDPHP recently. The insurer has a beautiful office building off Washington Avenue at 500 Patroon Creek Boulevard, by the State Office Campus.

Anyone who has dealt with CDPHP's leadership will tell you how wonderful recently-retired, Dr. Bill Cromie is -- he's just one of those very genuine, down to earth, all-around great people. Plus, they say CDPHP is a nice place to work, with good benefits, a fitness center, a massage therapist and a cafeteria that even serves it up organically. When you enter as a customer, the reception area is pleasant with comfy seating, and complimentary coffee.

What CDPHP doesn't have yet is safe access to public transportation. I guess all of their employees drive or carpool to work each day, because I can't imagine anyone making the trek to work by bus, especially in the brutal and icy Albany winter.

In preparation for my recent trip to the CDPHP offices, I decided to once again use CDTA's Trip Planner , but I didn't get very far because the software doesn't recognize Patroon Creek Boulevard as a valid street, yet Google Maps does.

Knowing the offices were off of Washington Avenue, I made my way over to Washington Avenue and hopped on a Number 12. Upon boarding, I asked the bus driver when I needed to get off to go to CDPHP.

He explained to me that the bus didn't go into Patroon Creek Boulevard, but that they were building condos there, and that once the condos were completed, he believed occasional buses would stop there. He then went on to tell me that there are certain buses scheduled to go into the State Office Campus, and I might find it easier to walk to Building 8 (of the State Office Campus) to catch a bus on my way back.

I decided to keep my absolute clueless-ness about the State Office Campus to myself. I don't know where Building 8 is, nor is it on my list of things to figure out in the near future. Every time I drive into the State Office Campus, I get lost, and I can't imagine hoofing it in search of Building 8 to be any easier. Of course, there are big plans in the works for that whole area as this recent article reminds us... no one knows yet what shape they'll take.

The nice driver explained to me that I'd need to get off the bus before the bridge because he couldn't make any stops after it. And so I did.

Then I walked... where there are no sidewalks... along this road here,

and past the lovely satellite dishes.

I waded through the high grass and came upon the sign that the condos were being built,

and saw the condos in progress.

Thankfully, it was a nice day for a very, very long walk.

I find it unconscionable that a huge employer like CDPHP, the multiple medical offices located off Washington Avenue and the credit union, SEFCU have been growing and growing without demanding access to public transportation for their customers and employees -- and that it's all within city limits makes it all the more appalling!

Apparently, long-term plans are in the works for transportation to service the expansion throughout the area -- CDTA has "newsletter" about a linkage study posted on their website which even discusses zipcar as a car sharing option. Currently, though if you don't have a car, you're up ____'s Creek without a paddle when you have to get to Patroon Creek.

Circular Reasoning brought to you by CDTA

2008-06-09T09:41:00.004-04:00

CDTA sends out media alerts when there is a scheduled re-route of a bus line for events like parades, runs, festivals and road pavings. This is a good thing.

The Times Union prints the information in the newspaper in articles like this one. This is also a good thing.

Note the last line of the article, "Riders can get more information about the route changes by visiting www.cdta.org or by calling 482-8822."

"Cool," I say to myself, "I can go to the website and see a map of the temporary routes!"

With a few key strokes and a couple of mouse clicks... I go to this page on CDTA's website, which not only has recent re-routing information, but for all those folks clamoring for a three-year history of CDTA re-routes, our transit authority provides that too! I click on the re-route link, "CDTA Announces Re-routes to Accommodate Albany Paving Project" and what do I get? Basically the same information provided in the newspaper article. As a matter of fact, the link is the press release sent to media outlets, and nothing more. There are no visuals, no map, no naming of re-route stops, no estimated time changes.

The link refers me back to CDTA's home page so that I can find the same information all over again... sending me in circles.

This is not a good thing.

So, really and truly -- the only way to get information is to call the CDTA information line, 482-8822. I didn't do it this weekend -- but I'm assuming the operators were provided detailed information to assist anyone who called with questions.

But, wait --- if CDTA's customer service operators are given detailed re-route info-- how much more work would it take to tweak that to be posted on the website?

Come on, CDTA -- I know you can do better! Stop sending your riders in circles and get us usable re-route info on the website.

Saving the Neighborhoods

2008-06-02T10:12:00.004-04:00

Updates on the tragedy of Kathina Thomas...

- Corey Ellis' "Save our Neighborhoods" campaign is hopefully gaining momentum

- Support from throughout the city, throughout the region, continues.

- Reward amount has increased from $1,000 to $11,000, but nothing will bring back Kathina.

- While, in Schenectady, a visiting eighteen year-old was shot to death in a "targeted" attack.

- Tedisco talks of increasing penalties for killing children, but still nothing will bring back Kathina.

- In Troy yesterday, people marched for another life lost to gun violence.

- A bright Mom I know thinks elected officials are too mired in old political battles to help anytime soon, and wants a movement among mothers across divides (racial, neighborhood, economic) to end the violence, and save our children.

- Tonight, the Albany Common Council meets at 7 p.m. -- I hope they get an earful from the community.

- Tomorrow , the Gun Violence Task force meets - 4-6 p.m., "First" Israel AME Church, 381 Hamilton Street-Albany

It's time to save our neighborhoods, so that our children can become adults one day.

Tragedy

2008-05-30T07:20:00.009-04:00

Yesterday morning, when I read the newspaper on the bus on my way to the office, I assumed my next blog entry would surely discuss our region's placement on the Carbon Footprint countdown and those shiny new buses CDTA will be able to purchase thanks to Hillary and Chuck.

Then, this morning with cup of coffee in hand, I routinely scanned Times Union stories online. Reading this tragedy trivialized any plans of bus chat this morning as tears streamed down my face.

Every 10-year old, on every block in this city should be able to play outside on a beautiful spring evening. The disparities we see from neighborhood to neighborhood are shameful. This city has got to get its priorities straight. The mayor needs to do more than show up after a tragedy, where are his plans to work with other elected officials to ensure every child can play without fearing for their lives?

My heart goes out to Kathina's family and friends, to all of the students and faculty at her school, and to the young, vibrant principal who is faced with the shooting death of a student at the end of her first year on the job.

Ten year old kids need to be safe in their neighborhoods.

It's Good to Let the Right Hand Know What the Left is Doing

2008-05-26T18:47:00.007-04:00

Last week, CDTA posted a Service Alert, noting that among other things, on Monday May 26 (Memorial Day -- observed), buses would run on the Sunday/ Holiday schedule. Today is Memorial Day and, I needed to run to the grocery store.

I decided to give Trip Planner a whirl, which I hadn't done in a long time. I input my home address and tried a couple of different options for destinations, and it's a good thing I didn't heed Trip Planner's advice. If I had, I'd still be outside waiting for the Number 3 which doesn't run on Sundays/ Holidays. It sure is important to let the right hand know what the left is doing, especially when you're directing your website's traffic to to the iRide Trip Planner with prime real estate. Somehow, the Service Alert folks didn't let the Trip Planner programmers know to schedule today as a Sunday/Holiday, or perhaps they don't have those programmer positions filled. In any case, it was a definite "CDTA Oops."

Hopefully, the rest of the region was too busy with Memorial Day observances, parades and services, and outings to be left waiting for a bus that won't be coming until Tuesday.

If it's not one thing... it's another

2008-05-23T12:52:00.005-04:00

So, for the first time in a while, the Albany City School District budget passed... on the first go-around. Good news for kids and families, and for that matter, the greater community.

But, it seems that even with such good news, the May 20, 2008 vote in Albany will go down in history with some drama. The ballot for Library Trustees was incorrect. You see, there was only one seat open on the library's Board of Trustees, yet the ballot read that voters could choose any 2 of the 3 candidates. Problematic, to say the least. Somehow, even with such an error, a winner was declared. Make sense? Not to me.

So, what's to be done?

I'm thinking either a re-vote or the top two vote-getters are appointed to finish the term of beloved, deceased Trustee, John Bach.

And I don't think time should be wasted with Carr appealing to the State Education Department.

Oh, Albany.

Featuring the Number 3

2008-05-11T15:00:00.007-04:00

I love the Number 3 bus line. The Number 3 provides a glimpse of the cultural and economic diversity of Albany's neighborhoods; connecting Arbor Hill, Pine Hills, Park South, Center Square and Mansion Hill all for the price of a bus fare. This little loop of a bus line goes up Clinton Avenue from the Palace Theatre to Quail Street, across Quail Street to Madison Avenue, down Madison Avenue all the way to Grand Street for a mini tour of Grand Street, then across Pearl Street back to the Palace. The line also runs in the opposite direction, but on a slightly different route Monday through Friday until about 6 p.m.

Unfortunately, like so many CDTA lines, it does not operate on Sundays at all.

Catch a Number 3, and it will take you many places in the City of Albany -- some functional, some fun including financial institutions, museums, churches, laundromats, a whole bunch of restaurants, a huge art collection and quite a few performing arts venues.

For instance, the stretch along Clinton Avenue gets passengers within four blocks of:

Federal Building
Family Court
Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center
United Tenants Association
Ten Broeck Mansion
the building on Orange Street that houses Capital District Community Loan Fund Affordable Housing Partnership, and the Albany Community Land Trust
Salvation Army
SEFCU
Way too many abandoned buildings.

While the stretch along Quail Street gets passengers to:

The Linda
Last Vestige Music
Mr. Pio Pio
Mild Wally's
Mary Jane Books
Pepper Jacks
Many blocks in need of a neighborhood clean-up

And along Madison Avenue, passengers can easily get to:

Washington Park
Scratch
Debbie's Kitchen
Albany Art Room
NYS Museum
Tandoor Palace
Price Chopper (a couple of blocks down Delaware)
Empire State Plaza Art Collection
Grand Street Community Arts
Lincoln Park and Lincoln Park Pool (just behind the NYS Museum)
The Governor's Mansion

Finally, the Grand Street and Pearl Street stretch connects folks to:

Cafe Capriccio
The TU Center
A lot more restaurants
Cap Rep
Melville's Mug
More banks than you ever thought were necessary

Unlike 14 other bus lines that stop at the Albany bus hub -- Washington Avenue and Lark Street, the Number 3 doesn't utilize Washington Avenue at all, yet you can still transfer to all of the lines that stop at the Washington-Lark hub down on Pearl or State Street.

I highly recommend buying a $3 Day Card on your next day off and spending the day hopping on and off the Number 3 line.

May "To Do" List

2008-05-02T06:50:00.013-04:00

May is a great month to appreciate and take steps to improve our quality of life! Below are just a few things to do in (or just outside of) the City of Albany during in the beautiful month of May.

Support our schools. Support our libraries. If you live in Albany and are not registered to vote, REGISTER NOW. If you know people who aren't registered to vote, do a good deed and get them registered immediately! Residents have until May 6 to be registered at their current addresses, and be eligible to VOTE in the May 20 Albany School Budget vote and Albany Public Library Trustee and Budget Vote.
Buy some furniture, have some fun, and help our libraries. Attend the May 7 auction at the Howe Branch at 6:00 p.m., and the May 14 auction at the Pine Hills Branch at 6:00 p.m. Lots of information here.
Ride your bike! May is National Bike Month. In honor of Bike Month, I fixed my link to the Albany Bicycle Coalition on the sidebar of this blog. I need to get a bike, and a helmet. And a fellow blogger sent me this interesting article about bike sharing in D.C.!
GET YOURSELF TO A FESTIVAL

UPDATE: POSTPONED UNTIL RAIN DATE: May 17 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. New Scotland Avenue Spring Spree brought to you by the Helderberg & New Scotland/ Woodlawn Neighborhood Associations. To participate: visit an Information Table in front of Anthology Florist or Isn't it Sweet! (Activities include: face painting, sidewalk chalk art contest, the Big Purple Bookmobile, Children's Art Show, Pet Adoption Workshop, Folk Dancing, and more!)
60th Albany Tulip Festival - May 9-11. Washington Park, Albany. And if you're looking to be a super team player and volunteer, let Beth know now, you can also call her at: 434-5411.
2008 St. Sophia Greek Festival, May 16-18.

ATTEND A CONCERT-- concerts in Albany for all kinds of tastes and price ranges. Here are just a few:

Look up concerts here or here
Go to the mall and hear a great town band! Colonie Town Band plays Colonie Center, Monday May 5, 7:30 p.m.
Ron Eliran plays Temple Israel at Albany's celebration of Israel's 60th birthday on May 8th at 7:00 p.m.
The Albany Symphony closes their season with this Choral Spectacular that includes special guests and is sponsored by Bea and Bob Herman on May 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Palace Theatre.

GO FOR A RUN!

Albany YMCA 5K Run and Walk - Sunday, May 4 - 9:00 a.m.
If you're a woman, join my daughter and me on May 31 at 9:15 for the 30th Freihofer's Run for Women.

TELL US ABOUT OTHER GREAT THINGS I FORGOT TO MENTION IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THIS POST!

Who will be impacted by a Fare Hike?

2008-04-26T09:16:00.025-04:00

I wasn't surprised to see this story in the TU. According to the article, CDTA hasn't raised their fares since 1995 -- wow! Of course, they restructured the fares not so long ago when they phased out oh-so-20th-century transfers in favor of the very cool $3 day cards. Apparently the revenue earned from that change isn't enough to cover increasing costs and demand for service.

Too bad it's not looking like service will be expanding soon, because there sure is a need. One recent Sunday evening at about 7:20, I was waiting for a bus by the
View Larger Map'>Hannaford on Central Avenue. As usual, I had given myself very little wiggle room, and I was supposed to be at my daughter's friend's house off of New Scotland Avenue near the intersection of View Larger Map'>Ontario St. and New Scotland Avenue by 8:00. The bus was late. I must say, I've found late buses to be unusual during my travels around Albany. Not that it doesn't happen -- it does. Finally, at about 7:35, a 55 came chugging down Central Avenue, I wasn't expecting a 1 since after 6:40 p.m. on Sundays, it's almost 5 hours before another bus is scheduled to get to the Northway Mall stop at 11:20!

The bus was PACKED.

I got on, but there was no room behind the "yellow" line. The bus just sat there. Those of us who had boarded at Hannaford were trying to squeeze in. Now, where I come from -- this is not an issue, as one of my fellow new passengers and I were telling the people, "I'm from New York, there's plenty of room." You see, in NYC, there's an understanding that sometimes you need to "make like sardines in a can and squish together", it's only temporary, and it will get you where you need to go. That's not the philosophy, however as you travel north along the Hudson. People on the bus started yelling at us, "Get off the bus, I need to go home!" I asked if the bus was always this crowded, simultaneously, I got 2 opposing answers. "No," said the bus driver, "Not my bus!" and "Yes," from a bus rider...I turned to the bus driver (who looked a wee bit stressed), and asked if I should get off the bus. She explained to me that, at this point the issue was that she couldn't leave the bus stop while there was a person in a wheel chair waiting to get on.

Yes, that's right. There was a woman in a wheel chair who had been waiting for the bus, but there was absolutely no room for her. The bus is not allowed to pull away while there's a wheel-chair bound person waiting to board. So the driver had called her supervisor and was waiting for instructions. That's why the bus wasn't moving. I asked if CDTA would send a STAR bus for her, the driver said that she didn't think so, but didn't know.

Feeling guilty about trying to squeeze myself onto the bus while someone waited in her wheel chair on the sidewalk, I got off, called to say I'd be a bit late, and waited on the sidewalk to see what happened. It wasn't too long before a supervisor showed up and told the bus driver to leave. It was already after 7:40 and another bus would be along "soon" to pick up the woman in the wheelchair. Soon, according to the schedule, meant departing Northway Mall at 8:03. Given that the bus that departs Northway Mall at 8:03 was scheduled to reach Central and Allen at 8:11 --it seemed to me that I'd be more productive walking. Since my friend in the wheel chair had the attention of the CDTA supervisor, I decided to get walking.

It was 8:06 when I got to the corner of View Larger Map'>Central Avenue and Ontario Street and turned to walk towards New Scotland Avenue. If I had waited for the bus... I'd still have been waiting for the bus! Saved time. Got some exercise. I hope that supervisor made sure my friend boarded the next bus, or gave her a ride if there wasn't room.

Wild Flowers brought to you by CDTA

2008-04-15T11:22:00.008-04:00

I read in the newspaper today that we can all ride the bus for free on Earth Day.

Good promotion. Good marketing. Good for the earth.

Pick up a pass at one of the locations listed here ... while supplies last.

I called the CDTA information line listed in the article to ask about the promotion. It sounded like I was my operator's first caller asking about this subject. Hopefully, I'm not the only. She had the information at her fingertips and shared it well, though -- she had no idea what the "DABID" was. I gave her the 411, and she was thankful. A trained employee will take you far.

When you're done with your pass, don't forget to plant it or donate it to Capital District Community Gardens.

CDTA Needs More Consistent Service on Number 13 Route

2008-03-25T12:18:00.013-04:00

Yesterday, I had an appointment at the doctor's office here. The bus goes into the parking lot, sometimes. But, not all times. The stop is called Mercycare on the bus schedule, the bus system and Trip Planner even though the name of the building is Slingerlands Medical Arts. Once upon a time, I believe there was a building there called Mercycare, and I think it was affiliated with St. Peter's Hospital. But, that's about as relevant to the average CDTA bus rider today as what the bus fare was in 1990. What's relevant now is that it's confusing to have a stop named Mercycare throughout your system, but no building at the location with such a name. A pet peeve of mine that I've called CDTA about, to no avail.

Yesterday, I missed the bus that goes into the parking lot at 1240 New Scotland Road, otherwise known as Slingerlands Medical Arts. I probably missed the bus because I was sitting at my computer for too long ending my short-lived love affair with CDTA's Trip Planner .

I took the next bus, the bus that doesn't go into the parking lot and I had to get off here. Hopefully you can manipulate the view to see that there is a sidewalk to cross the bridge, and then that's it-- the sidewalk ends. Just the side of the road where you hope the cars won't cross that white line. There are signs posted with a speed limit of 30 mph, but I didn't sense a single car whizzing by me at such a speed. It was dangerous, yet I made it to the office without injury.

When I was finished with my doctor's appointment, I had a choice, I could do the safe thing and wait about an hour in the parking lot for the next bus, or walk back out to the bus stop, and only wait about 10 minutes. Would you like to guess which option I chose?

When I made my way to the stop heading back into Albany, there was a bus on the other side of New Scotland Road, someone getting out at the same stop that I had used a little while before -- obviously, he also missed the bus that goes into the parking lot. The passenger was taking a long time getting off the bus, cars were lining up behind the bus, and I was watching, wondering what was going on. When he finally got off the bus, I understood what took so long. He had a limp and a cane... and he crossed over to my side of the street-- very slowly. I think my heart skipped a beat watching him, I was quite worried about him making it across the road, worrying that a driver of a car behind the bus might be getting impatient and decide to gun it. He crossed the street without incident and he hobbled off down the dangerous road towards the doctor's office. The road with no sidewalk, holding his cane. A few moments later, a good Samaritan noticed him hobbling, turned his car around, and gave the man a ride to his appointment. I know this because that same good Samaritan drove up to me when he finished good deed number one to see if I wanted a ride. I graciously declined since the Number 13 bus was right behind his car, and I'd have another opportunity to be sure I milk my $44 per month for every penny it's worth.

I do wonder if it's time to re-route all Number 13 buses into the Slingerlands Medical Arts Building parking lot.

The Drive to drive

2008-03-25T11:38:00.008-04:00

I LOVE driving. I've always loved it. Short drives, long drives, country road drives, maneuvering through a city, heck, I even enjoy parallel parking on the left side of a one-way street. I think there are only two kinds of driving I don't like (i) sitting in a traffic jam and (ii) wandering around a city I'm not familiar with... lost. Overall, I'm in a special groove when I'm behind the wheel. I'm seemingly in control of my destiny... or at least my destination.

So, why did I stop doing it on a regular basis?

In the short term, economics.

In the long run, a lesson for my kid -- a challenge for myself. A healthy dose of self-torture. And doing my little part for the environment, of course.

Some Disparaties in Shopping

2008-03-04T20:38:00.012-05:00

I do love my shopping cart, but it's been out of commission lately

thanks to the icy sidewalks like this one.
It's been a little easier to shop lightly with a back pack and a couple of canvass shoulder bags than to risk balancing on the ice while pulling the cart along behind me. With today's rain melting away the ice, I could be bringing the cart out for a trip this weekend.

Usually, when it's time to go the store, I head to the food co-op, one of the Price Choppers or Hannaford, but the other day, a friend of mine was taking her mini van to go grocery shopping and asked if I'd like to join her. I thought about the near-luxury of buying a jumbo pack of paper towels and perhaps some laundry detergent and having it driven right to my front door, and I didn't hesitate to take her up on the offer. When I got in the car, she asked if I'd like to go to the Price Chopper on Central or the one in Slingerlands. Decisions, decisions. We went for Slingerlands, and BOY what a difference -- what good service they've got in the suburbs -- we were astonished.

There were two major points of exceptional service that we both noticed.

Upon walking up to the store's entrance, a Price Chopper employee in charge of carts was wheeling back a number of carts from the parking lot, and putting them into the location for shoppers to use. The employee saw us coming, pulled us each out a shopping cart, checked the cart for debris and removed the debris from the carts, then handed us each a cart. Wow. Here in Albany -- this just doesn't happen.
During checkout they have quite a system of packing. Each cash register station must start off their day with an extra cart. So, when your items are being bagged, you don't have to wheel your cart to the front of the cashier to be loaded with your bags because they already have a cart there ready to go. It's a little thing, yes -- but the system is what's noticeable. I really noticed a team spirit among the people I saw working there. Granted, I have seen this type of packing before -- but NEVER at a Price Chopper or Hannaford in the city of Albany (and it wouldn't happen at the co-op because there just isn't room...yet.)

Of course, the store was also more brightly lit and much cleaner than the stores we have here in the city.

Why is it that folks in the suburbs are treated to brightly lit stores with better service than those of us who reside in the city?

Well, I had fun on my outing, but I'm not moving out of this pretty city any time soon. Of course, the Number 13 bus does go to the Slingerlands Price Chopper, so I could return on my own, and bring my shopping cart along for the ride!

...Where did I put that Swiper?

2008-02-29T22:58:00.008-05:00

I can be absent-minded. I mis-place things from time to time. Sometimes, I just plain lose them. It's not fun, I'm not proud, but it is what it is.

I've been purchasing the CDTA Swiper since June 2007. During that time, I dropped it once when I was walking into my office, but was very fortunate that a colleague found the little bus pass before I even realized it was missing! Then, there was the very cold evening of February 27, 2008. I boarded a bus using my Swiper, but the next morning when I was getting ready for my day, the Swiper was missing. Not sure what happened to it, but I know why it happened. I didn't follow my own rule, my routine. The routine is this: get on the bus, find a location to sit or stand, put the card away in the special spot in my bag where I can always find it. The critical error happened here: I was on the phone when I get on the bus, and I STAYED on the phone, distracted -- didn't follow my own procedure, the card never got put away.

Now, if I were in my city of origin, NYC and my MetroCard had disappeared, I could be reimbursed! Here in CDTA-land, I cannot find any information on the CDTA website about such a consumer-friendly option when a card is lost or stolen.

I try to look at the bright side of things -- so here's the positive aspect of my lost card: at least it happened at the end of the day on the 27th of February - the shortest month of the year. I only wound up paying an additional $6 to buy two $3 day cards. True, if it weren't a leap year, I would have only had to pay an additional $3, but I'm trying to see the bright side right now.

Actually, this takes me to something else I just don't understand about CDTA. I don't get why monthly passes (aka Swipers) -- both the 7-day pass and the 5-day pass - are valid from the 1st day of the month through the last day/ week day (if you have a 5-day pass) of the month, rather than the very consumer-friendly option of "good for 30 days from the date of first use"... just like the METROCARD!

Imagine deciding that you're ready to start riding the bus regularly, you want to buy a 7-day Swiper, so you can take 2 buses each way to and from work Monday through Friday, and it happens to be the 10th of January when you make this decision. Would you get your money's worth if you purchased a Swiper and started using it that day? I don't want to do the math -- maybe you do. I think our time would be better spent letting CDTA know that they're on the right track, yet there's so much more they could be doing to provide quality service to the residents and visitors of our region. A public meeting is coming up in April to be held at one of my favorite places; let's make it there.

Transit Updates

2008-02-24T19:39:00.010-05:00

One day last week, I looked down at my morning newspaper and saw Roger looking up at me. Roger has added the TU to his running list of blogs - cool.

When I noticed Roger's blog blurb in the paper, I was happy to see that he was posting about a meeting hosted by Lucille Brewer who wrote this letter last summer about the bus to the mall. I was unable to attend the meeting, but I do want to become a member of Citizens for Bus Transportation.

Maybe even more people will join the group, with the 6% increase in CDTA use over the past year, there must be more citizens who are indeed for bus transportation.

Gotta say, this was quite a week for CDTA news in the TU, they even pointed out my favorite new tool on the CDTA website. Yes, it's a bit bug-gy, but this software-tester-in-a-previous-life finds workarounds and overall, thinks the Trip Planner is pretty nifty. I've actually only used it for practical purposes twice thus far. The first time, I needed to figure out how to get to Siena college from downtown Albany one recent Friday evening, it worked like a charm. It's a good thing I had a ride home though, because the last bus back to Albany from Siena leaves Latham Circle Mall at 6:52, so it must get to Siena shortly thereafter, this was not going to work for me since I'd need to return back closer to 11:00 p.m. Three words: More Service Needed.

The second time I used Trip Planner, I encountered a couple of odd things. I needed to get to an address on Washington Avenue Extension which requires taking a little Shuttle bus. The Trip Planner had me get on the shuttle, but (i) it referred to the shuttle by a number (27[v]) and NO PLACE does CDTA refer to the ShuttleBug by a number, so this is ummm... kind of confusing, and (ii) a great feature of the ShuttleBug service is that it makes stops at office buildings all along its route -- even if the buildings are not scheduled ROUTE STOPS, however it doesn't appear that the Trip Planner was given that information because it had me get out at Wal-Mart (eek) and walk across four lanes of traffic (or is it 6?) to the other side of Washington Avenue Extension, when really all I needed to do was tell the bus driver where I was headed -- it's cool like that.

HANDS DOWN, the best CDTA announcement of the past month was this one. Thank you Philip Morris and Proctors for hopefully being just the FIRST local arts organization to partner with our Transit Authority.

Altamont Fair Nixes Bus Riders to be Cost Effective

2007-08-16T08:14:00.002-04:00

I've been spending so much time waiting for the bus, that I haven't been posting as much as I expected this summer. There have been a few items in the news the past week that I need to comment on, but the 13th hour news about NO FREE BUS SERVICE to the Altamont Fair is devastating -- and must be discussed now.

Apparently, it was a business decision to by the fair to renege on the agreement with CDTA to provide free bus service -- as the TU stated, and as Andrew from the Altamont Fair told me when I called, it wasn't cost effective to continue with the current agreement with CDTA. When I asked when the decision was made to not go forward with the CDTA contract this year, he told me he was not going to discuss their business decisions. Okay, so I checked out the Altamont Fair's website, their homepage states the following, "The Altamont Fair is a three county fair representing Albany, Schenectady and Greene Counties. It is a non-profit, public educational and historical society supported entirely by admissions, rentals, contributions and the assistance of hundreds of volunteers."

Hmmm... the Altamont Fair is a non-profit educational and historical society, they exist to serve the public, yet this year made a business decision to only serve the public who can get there by means other than the bus. Outrageous.

I also called CDTA yesterday, and spoke to a customer service representative where I left my request for CDTA to provide regular fare service to the Fair. This should not even be a question. When the Altamont Fair pulled out on their agreement, it didn't relinquish CDTA's responsibility to serve the public who expects service.

I've been telling my daughter for WEEKS that we'd take the bus to the fair. She looks forward to going every year, it's one of our summer traditions -- like going swimming at our city pools, walking to Washington Park for the Park Playhouse show, and not having to stress about homework. It's the only fair we attend- as Albany residents, it is OUR county fair, though perhaps this year, we'll need to switch to the Schaghticoke Fair since there will be bus service to that one. Of course, we have our bus passes that we've already paid for so I wasn't concerned about the service being free -- though free is good. I always like free. We took the bus to the fair a few years ago when our car wasn't working, it was great. Didn't have to deal with parking or getting stuck in traffic and the car overheating (which also happened one year). The buses ran regularly, all day long, until pretty late in the evening. More frequently, actually than some regular CDTA bus lines that just don't run at all on Saturdays/ Saturdays and Sundays (a topic for an upcoming post.)

A friend of mine gave me a CDTA bus map which is also available online, though not in the most usable format. It does appear that if I wanted to go to Altamont on a weekday (no weekend service), I could have gone there via the Altamont Express line (bus 21) last night-- leaves downtown Albany at 4:30 and 5:15 each weekday --that's it! So, my daughter and I could have made it to the fair Thursday evening, camped out someplace in Altamont, and woken up this morning to catch that Altamont Express to downtown Albany at 6:55. If we'd done that I'd be running home now to shower, and I could still make it to work today. Now, that would have been an adventure.

So, I take away a couple of questions from this...

1. Is the Altamont Fair in the business of being cost effective at the expense of serving the public?

2. Where is CDTA's leadership in providing transportation to our region regardless of agreements with other entities?

The Mall Trek

2007-07-18T11:50:00.001-04:00

Personally, I try to avoid malls whenever possible. The artificially created "town center" has never appealed to me, and that's putting it mildly. Granted, when I first moved to Albany as a freshman at the University at Albany I got my first Albany job at Crossgates. It was there that I learned just how many people flock to the mall to shop. And while I try to avoid taking trips to the mall, sometimes, living here, I've just got to bite the bullet and do it. There aren't many other options.

I learned a couple of weeks ago when I read this letter to the editor that the CDTA bus does not go into the Colonie Center mall parking lot anymore. This is outrageous and dangerous. I'm glad people are speaking up about it, including this person in today's paper. Of course, the bus doesn't go into the "Northway Mall" (is it still called that?) / Target parking lot across the street either -- and I don't think it has since they took down Northway Mall and put in the current big box shopping center structure there. The truth is there are many places designed for consumers where the bus just doesn't go directly.

I was doing a bit of research and found this article that I missed over the winter about RPI students focusing on solving real world problems... the kids had some good ideas. I'd like to see more focus on getting low income and working class people around safely and efficiently-- from home to work to school to the grocery store to the mall.

And... what about car sharing? Here's a marketing industry article about it too. When I first heard about this a few years ago, I thought, "Eureka!" I don't want to own a car, but once or twice a month, I'd like to be able to use one for a few hours and do some shopping. I've written to a few of the companies asking them to come here -- haven't heard back from them yet. This would be great for me... and how about some innovation in non-profit/ human services organizations to make car sharing available for those low to moderate income earners who also need to get around the region?

Holiday quiz - UPDATED July 6

2007-07-04T07:44:00.000-04:00

Rather than play catch-up with a long narrative about the experiences I've had without a car over the past six(ish) weeks, I decided to play this little game with you.
Special thanks for the idea for this game goes to a friend from high school

Go to the comments section for the answers

Section 1 - The Bus
1. Since riding the bus regularly, I have experienced all of the following except one:
a. For the first time, traveled by bus across the Hudson for a meeting one evening at Hudson Valley Community College . I was pleasantly surprised with how fast and convenient the ride was.
b. Taken the bus to the Mater Christi pool with my daughter and her friends.
c. Never had to wait more than ten minutes for a bus.

2. My doctor's office is in Slingerlands, on the bus line in a building off of New Scotland Road. 6 buses per day/ per direction (6 in each direction-- to and from Albany) go into the parking lot to serve patrons of the medical offices in the building. This is an important service for patients who rely on public transporation so they don't have to trudge onto the busy road to search for a bus stop, and dodge vehicles since there's no sidewalk on that stretch. Which one of the following does not reflect my experience?
a. I had to leave my office before noon so that I could catch the bus to get to the office in time for my 1 p.m. appointment.
b. I was thrilled to leave my appointment at 1:35, the perfect amount of time to be waiting outside on a sunny day for the bus scheduled to arrive at 1:53 and take me back downtown. That bus though, never showed up. I called CDTA after waiting for about 1/2 hour (and becoming friends with a fiesty senior citizen who comes from a place with a better public transporation system; she had quite a mouthful about the poor quality of public transportation she's experienced since moving to Albany); I learned that the bus was already downtown. Why hadn't the bus made it into the lot? Had it been really early or did the driver not make the scheduled trip into the lot? The next bus showed up at 2:53, and I got back to work at about 3:30. If I had driven to the appointment, I would have been gone from my office for no longer than 1 1/4 hours, but this trip wound up taking me almost 4 hours.
c. This was the easiest bus trek yet!

3. I don't like standing at a bus stop and waiting. So, if bus stops are relatively close to each other, I'll walk along in the direction I'm travelling while keeping my eyes out for the bus. Which of following did not happen to me all in one day?
a. I walked from CDPHP (where there is no bus stop) to the corner of Manning Blvd and Washington before I caught a bus on a weekday morning. Parts of this walk were extremely dangerous because there's no sidewalk along upper Washington Avenue.
b. I was at the co-op heading towards the Mater Christi swimming pool (more on this pool's location later) between 4:45 and 5:00 p.m. on a weekday , and I decided to take the Number 1 to the Number 30 at Allen and Central to catch the NUmber 13 at Allen and New Scotland. When I got off the Number 1, I saw that I had missed the 30 across Allen by mere seconds. I walked over 1 1/2 miles from Central and Allen to Allen and New Scotland with absolutely no 30 bus going in my direction. Then when I got to New Scotland I waited 10 minutes for a Number 13 to show up!
c. I was walking to catch a bus on Madison Avenue, and the bus went right by me because I didn't make it to a bus stop yet.

4. I have found one the following to be true of the CDTA bus service for getting around the Albany area.
a. The bus service is sufficient, it operates 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, providing reliable transportation to those who need to get around without cars.
b. I am shocked at the lack of public transportation available on weekends. The number of bus lines that have significantly reduced service on Saturdays and absolutely no service on Sundays is appalling.

5. Which one of the following accurately reflects my experience with the CDTA summerfun pass for kids under 16 ($17 for a summer full of bus riding)?
a. This is a well-publicized program and CDTA even coordinated with the Albany City School District to help get the word out.
b. I read an article about it in the Times Union.
c. I found out about it by chance, and it cant' be purchased the same place that I buy my monthly pass (KeyBank), but rather can be purchased either through Mr. Subb (I don't think I've ever been to a Mr. Subb shop), a CDTA office, or even though it doesn't say it here
it also appears to be available for sale online.

Section 2 - The Shopping Cart
6. On the first day without a car, I realized it was time to buy a shopping cart. That day, I needed to go to the co-op and Hannaford. Which of the following is not true about my search for a shopping cart.
a. I found my shopping cart at the poorly organized monstrosity, the Family Dollar on Central Avenue that's right near the co-op.
b. When I asked a friend if he knew where I could purchase a shopping cart, he said, "you mean one of those old lady carts? Try the Family Dollar."
c. When I found a discount store that sold shopping carts, I had a choice between a big shopping cart and a smaller one.

7. When I got to Hannaford with my shopping cart, I looked for those hooks on the store cart to hang my newly purchased personal shopping cart while I shopped. Which of the following reflects my experience?
a. I couldn't find any hooks to fasten my own shopping cart to, but one of the employees who works at Hannaford came up to me and offered to hold my shopping cart in a secure location while I shopped, talk about excellent customer service!
b. I fastened my new shopping cart to those hooks that come standard with grocery store shopping carts This made it really easy for me to shop.
c. I couldn't find any hooks to fasten my shopping cart to the store's cart, and was at a complete loss until I noticed someone else with a shopping cart a few feet away in the produce area. I saw that he had turned his cart upside down and it was hanging relatively securely in the space between the handle you push and the front basket. I played copy-cat and was ready to roll.

8. Since buying my shopping cart, I purposefully walk tall sporting a proud grin as I roll my cart around town. Which of the following is not true:
a. I realized the cart I bought can fit a lot of groceries in it, but it's too big to take on a crowded bus!
b. I also purchased 2 new foldable coolers that I take with me for goods that need to be kept cold. This was a wise investment, and has been working out really well.
c. At a recent gathering, one parent I know asked me if she'd seen me walking around with a shopping cart. When I told her she likely had, she said that she was going to go out and purchase her own cart and start walking with me to the grocery store.

Training It

2007-07-03T06:50:00.000-04:00

The TU has an article this morning about the investigation into Senate Majority Leader Bruno's use of public funds. Here's the article:
Interest grows in Bruno's travels

I like getting places quickly. Apparently, Joe does too -- at least that's what Spitzer spokesman Darren Dopp says of Bruno's requests for police escorts, lights and sirens.

This native New Yorker has a handy bit of travel advice for the Senator -- try the subway-- it's the fastest way around town, and it'll save all of us some money.

And speaking of trains and quality of life, a member of the Albany Common Council has been thinking about that.
Gee, limit hazardous materials coming through our city, which also happens to be the Capital of our state... sounds like a good idea to me. Out of the Council's jurisdiction? Not enough staff to monitor? What is all of this opposition really about?

Visit me on July 4, for a little guessing game about my non-driving life in Albany.

Free Ride on CDTA -- act NOW

2007-06-29T03:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday this article was printed in the TU- A free ride for at least one day.
Even those of us already riding qualify --excellent! Why not ride for free for a day? If you're interested, you need to move fast on this. The article in the paper states:

Commuters have until Saturday to participate online at http://www.cdta.org or through the mail.

I'll need to find out how many folks sign up, and what I'd really like to know is whether those who try the bus will be converts to CDTA after their day of free riding.

I'll tell you, I'd like to get one of these free rides for my daughter. This week, I've been taking her on the bus to the babysitter's each morning since school is out and she's not thrilled with the concept of walking (that's putting it mildly). At a dollar per ride, the bus fare adds up quickly.

Well, look at this! A little visit to the CDTA website -- a couple of clicks, and this seems like a GREAT DEAL if your child will be riding the bus regularly. $17 for two months of riding. Will I take my daughter on the bus more than 17 times between July 1 and August 31? I've got to do the math. This is her last week at the babysitter's, then it's a few days of winging it until it's on to camp in the walkable neighborhood... so, this deal may not be worth it for me. But, I'm glad to see it's an option. I wonder how well this has been publicized?

I've had some great experiences taking the bus. As someone who always loves a deal, I've gotta say, that every time I swipe my little 7-day pass, I get a warm fuzzy thinking about how that $44 I laid out for my 7-day monthly bus pass is getting put to good use. Today I'll have to remember to purchase my July pass, so I can get the full value in case I want to take a ride this Sunday, the first of the month.

I've also had some mildly irritating and some extremely frustrating experiences on the bus, and if you come back, you can read about that soon.

Until then...think about that free ride, maybe I'll see you on the bus!

It's easy to talk the talk

2007-06-27T07:41:00.000-04:00

It was a sunny Sunday in May, and the 1993 Volvo just didn't want to go. The car had a temperamental history. Seemed to stop working for no apparent reason every once in a while. At least this time it was in my driveway, and not stuck in the Price Chopper parking lot, as it had been at least once before. I try to look at the bright side.

Gas prices had been rising. I'd been running my mouth about the planet, recycling, walkable neighborhoods, fossil fuels and the future. Feeling guilty every time I drove someplace that I really could walk to, or that was an easy bus ride away...places like my office, my daughter's school, the co-op.... So, rather than call AAA or a friend for help, it seemed the timing was right to venture out without a car.

I grabbed the two Sunday papers sitting on the front porch, and walked the healthy mile to the Muddy Cup for a relaxing Sunday morning read. It almost felt like the old days, the days before I was a Mom, when I had so much choice about how to spend my non-working hours, and would often enjoy Sunday mornings reading the paper in my neighborhood coffee shop.

It really was a beautiful spring morning. The air felt great, and I was proud to be using my neighborhood sidewalks.

After spending some leisurely time lounging and looking at the paper, I realized that time was ticking. My free time was actually limited-- and groceries needed getting.

Grocery shopping without a car is doable. I know this. I've spent much of my life shopping without a car. In my hometown of NYC, we didn't hop in the car to go grocery shopping -- that would have been counter-productive. And when I first came to Albany as an undergraduate student, I didn't have a car for years. I walked to Price Chopper and the co-op back then, so I could certainly do it now. I chose to live, work and send my daughter to school all right here in the same city after all, and part of that reasoning was that I could indeed get around without a car.

One thing that's different though, is that I'm now shopping for more than just me, so, as a walking person, I'd need a way to transport those family groceries back home... I'd need to purchase a shopping cart. And so began the start of my spring to action experiment -- learning to walk the walk.

It's now been over a month, and though the Volvo has been fixed, I haven't been running it. It's in the driveway -- for emergency use only. I've been out walking, I purchased a 7-day bus pass for the month of June, I rented a car one weekend because I had to be a whole bunch of different places quickly ( places I wouldn't trust that Volvo to get to and back!) , and I'm adjusting to the fact that it takes longer to get errands done when you aren't driving... at least here in Albany.