Dozens Of Elderly, Disabled McKinney Residents Want Bus Service
MCKINNEY (CBSDFW.COM) - Dozens of elderly and disabled McKinney residents Tuesday night spoke of feeling trapped in their homes and unable to find rides to work.
They are urging the city to accept one of two public transportation services offered during a meeting with the mayor.
DART and the Denton County Transportation Authority both made pitches to McKinney offering bus and rail service. Residents who support it offered compelling reasons why it's needed.
With failing knees, 79-year-old Shirley Bloomer says her days of driving are numbered. "I have no family around here so how am I supposed to get places?" says Bloomer.
The McKinney resident was among those attending a meeting of the city's newly formed urban transit board created to help people like Bloomer get around.
"This the start of trying to develop a plan," says Brian Loughmiller, McKinney Mayor.
McKinney's mayor and others listened to presentations from DART and the Denton County Transportation Authority explaining how much money and time it will take the city to get buses and rail service. But some elderly residents like Leah Whitehead walked out of the meeting convinced the city isn't serious.
"What we heard is what they brought up two years ago when they turned it down," says Whitehead.
The 80-year-old says she and others have trouble getting to McKinney's Senior Recreation Center and even to the hospital. "I have to walk a half an hour to get a loaf of bread," she says.
Whitehead worries the city will be scared off by the high cost of light rail when she and others would be happy with just bus service.
"They seem to be more worried about the young people and they forget about the old people and if it wasn't for the old people McKinney wouldn't really be here," she says.
McKinney could be more motivated than ever by $315,000 in state money that will help cover the cost and more than $400,000 from Toyota, which is building its headquarters just outside the city.