All Aboard COTA Crimes!

A veteran commuter, including almost two decades riding the coaches and rails of New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority, I have been amazed at the lack of accountability on the part of the Central Ohio Transit Authority, particularly when it comes to the ineptitude and inconvenience of the system, and treatment of its customers. Unlike most metropolitan newspapers, The Columbus Dispatch barely covers this beat--I guess it's readers all are safely ensconced in their earth-killing machines and don't ever have to bother with riding the bus. Even now, most people look at me strange when I explain that I'm a bus rider and don't have a car. But even more astounding to me is the riding public's apparent willingness to endure rude drivers, bad service, nonexistent transfer procedures, and fare increases, just to name a few injustices. This blog will serve to document the abuses, highlight service lapses and shortcomings, and put the word out about discourteous drivers. Kudos will be provided when earned, and readers are encouraged to contribute accounts of their own experiences. It is hoped that the effort will result in the establishment of a commuter-advocacy organization like New York's Straphanger Campaign, to put the system's wheels to the fire. WE DESERVE BETTER!!!

Monday, August 15, 2016

Our Filthy Bus Stops: The garbage dump in front of the Health Department

I pass by the bus stop at East Main Street and Parsons Avenue nearly everyday. At that corner stands the stately, neo-Gothic pile that serves as the headquarters for the Franklin County Health Department. Its first incarnation was as the Ohio School for the Deaf, and also the Ohio School for the Blind. One of its students, a Toledo boy, who learned to play piano there during his residency in the 1930s, went on to become the world-renowned jazz pianist Art Tatum. Roland Rashaan Kirk, known for his ability to play two saxophones at once, also spent time there. In the late 1990s, the building was totally renovated and became the Health Department.



The building is surrounded by an original, wrought-iron fence and within is a beautiful, expansive green campus dotted with large, century-old oak trees. The vista, however, often is marred by unsightly trash left by patrons of the Health Department who wait at the stop on the corner for their bus.

Last fall, this was the scene--for more than two weeks!





Those potato chips did not disintegrate over the entire two-week period! And during that time, trash began to migrate over the fence into the Health Department campus.



Granted, the area abuts the infamous "split" where Interstates 70 and 71 intersect near downtown, and admittedly, just about any major interstate exit and junction tends to act as catch-all for all manner of garbage. These scenes were taken just across Parsons Avenue from the bus stop.






The stop has no trash can even though my experience shows the presence of a trash receptacle does not guarantee it will be used. Still, it would be nice to have the option.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I took this photo while passing by on a Reynoldsburg-bound No. 2:



So the cycle begins anew. Pretty ironic, eh?






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