CityLink's future drives concern

COEUR d’ALENE — Nearly 100 people attended a Future of Transit Town Hall on Wednesday night at the Kootenai County Administration Building.

Several expressed worries about CityLink's future.

“I was told my bus would be eliminated if we didn’t come and speak,” said Rosemary Harris, who relies on CityLink’s services.

Kootenai County Commissioner Bruce Mattare, who hosted the 90-minute meeting, reiterated his goal to “get more stakeholders involved in transit” in order to decrease cost and liability shouldered by the county.

CityLink, a free public transportation service, is overseen by county commissioners. It is primarily funded by grants from the Federal Transit Authority and the Idaho Transportation Department. 

CityLink also receives match funds from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Kootenai Health and participating cities including Coeur d'Alene, which recently approved a one-year agreement to provide $104,298.

Last year, CityLink provided services to about 100,000 riders.

Many asked to speak even though a public comment section wasn’t planned. They were looking for answers about whether the service was in jeopardy of being shut down.

Mattare said that wasn't going to happen.

“This is not about shutting down transit,” he said. “My job is to make sure we are spending our money efficiently.”

Mattare assured attendees that “there is not a discussion to shut down CityLink,” but some were not convinced. A few walked out before the meeting ended.

“You would be served to give the public more information,” one woman said from the audience. “You’re misrepresenting the actual situation.”

Others were concerned about talks of CityLink connecting to Spokane, citing fears about crime it could bring to Coeur d'Alene.

“We have not had a discussion of connecting Kootenai transit with Spokane,” Mattare said.

When asked if these conversations could take place in the future, Mattare replied, “Could there be? Yes. Are there plans for one? No.”

As for the future of CityLink over the next five years, “it comes down to speaking with the community,” Mattare said.