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Transportation
Transportation in a Democracy
Lack of personal transportation for an individual can mean they lack access to food, healthcare, housing, education, employment... and democratic participation.
Transportation Planner Colin Lentz volunteers at his local voting ward in Rochester and was helping voters register on the 23rd. A voter had accidentally come to ward 6 and needed to travel nearly two miles to ward 4. The voter said they did not have a car and needed to walk. Luckily, they had a phone to help them navigate, and there were sidewalks along their route. But this is January in New Hampshire: it was cold, and it had just snowed. It’s likely that the plow drivers hadn’t cleared all the sidewalks yet.
How many barriers would you be willing to overcome to cast your ballot? What if you didn’t have a car? What if there wasn’t public transit or safe bicycle or pedestrian facilities to your polling place? What if you had a disability? What if English wasn’t your first language?
Each day, through our personal lives, we discover systemic inequities. This year’s update to SRPC’s Public Participation Plan aims to integrate the lived experiences of our community members and address those unforeseen injustices.
Do you have a transportation experience, or need, to share? Email Autumn Scott at ascott@strafford.org.
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