| Lewiston
gets its own bus stop for trip to Logan
By Stevie Stewart
March 22, 2007 | LEWISTON -- Lewiston residents have
a free lift to Logan twice a day as Cache Valley Transit
announces that one of Franklin's bus stops will move
to downtown Lewiston.
At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Todd Beutler of
Cache Valley Transit announced that the bus stop in
Lewiston will run for the next year, after recent weeks
of trial stops in Lewiston sparked interest. Beutler
said for now the route will be paid for by other cities
that are part of the transit system, but at the end
of the year, Cache Valley Transit will want Lewiston
to join the system to pay for its stop.
"We are excited about how fast people took an interest,"
Beutler said. "We don't want to lose momentum as mass
transit will help out air quality immensely."
According to Beutler, the route comes from Preston
via the old highway, stops at the intersection of Center
and Main streets and continues to Logan on U.S. 91.
He said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
has given permission for a stop to be built at the church
on Center Street.
The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality along
with Preston City, Franklin County and Cache Valley
Transit, are all footing the first year's bill for the
Lewiston stop. After that, Beutler said options for
paying the bill including raising sales tax in Lewiston
by 1 percent or applying for grants from government
resources.
"We are hopeful that on the basis of air quality,
grants will not be hard to get," Beutler said.
Mayor Kelly Field said he believes the bus stop is
a good option for citizens, but the potential topic
of raising taxes is not one he takes lightly.
"While this is helpful with gas prices and environmental
air quality, we already pay 6.1 percent in sales tax
and Logan pays 6.3 percent," said Field. "This
would put us up to 7.1 percent if we have to raise it."
Beutler said in the past two weeks an average of 35
people per hour have used the buses from Preston to
Logan. He said taking 35 cars off the road every hour
makes a big impact on air quality and he hopes people
in Lewiston take advantage of the fare-free busing system.
He said he thinks a raise in taxes is worth the cost
if it cuts down on buying gas.
"Our system is only as good as the citizens who
support it, and we hope that if the need arises Lewiston
will pay to support the transit system," Beutler
said.
For bus stop schedules to and from Lewiston, commuters
can call Cache Valley Transit at 435-716-9680.
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