Mayor visits Australia for a transit program

By Steven Raphael

Public transportation has taken Mayor Jane Kennedy farther than she could have imagined. Kennedy, who is the alternate Valley Transit Authority representative for the West Valley, traveled 8,000 miles for a two-week public transportation conference in Australia.

The United International Rail Conference was held in Melbourne, Australia, from Oct. 6 through Oct. 17, and was attended by public transportation officials from around the world.

The purpose of the conference was "to share the wealth of information," according to VTA spokeswoman Lupe Solis. "We exchange ideas, we exchange technologies; because every country works differently."

While Kennedy was "Down Under," she was presented with many ways in which public transportation can be used successfully.

"Basically, it's showing you how other countries plan their transportation," she said. "How you could have transit in your area and have it be in the community and be likable."

Kennedy said Campbell may benefit from what she learned. "It helps you in your decision-making. You can take a close look at what you're doing in Campbell and ask if some of that can apply to your city," she said.

Kennedy said that, overall, VTA is relatively advanced in its use of public transportation. The one area VTA could still improve on, according to Kennedy, is enhancing the appearance of the transportation lines.

Kennedy said Melbourne is actually a great example of hoe public transportation can be beautified. "There's an awful lot of people in the large cities over there," she said. " But all their streets and all of their transit lines had trees all over. There is not a road or a street in Melbourne that did not have a tree on it."

The mayor didn't get to be a tourist on the trip, but she has no regrets--especially since VTA paid for the $5,000 trip. "It was definitely worth it," Kennedy said.

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