At the annual meeting of the UU Congregation of Salem on May 4th, 2014, the congregation voted to adopt a Transportation Equity Resolution. It is the hope of the authors of the resolution that other churches will adopt a similar resolution, putting pressure on local and county governments to provide adequate public transportation for those who cannot afford their own vehicles, or cannot or choose not to drive a vehicle.

Resolution before the Congregation
Forwarded by Congregants Supporting Social Justice Regarding:
The Fundamental Right for Full Social, Civic, Economic and Religious Participation

Whereas,
Each person has a fundamental right to participate fully in social, civic, economic, and religious life of their community that should not require or be conditioned on ownership or access to use of an automobile, And whereas, public transit is essential for providing the young, the old, the disabled, and the economically challenged with the ability to participate,

And whereas, Salem’s transit system fails to support full participation by all its residents, denying this fundamental right,

Therefore, as concerned residents and religious communities in Salem, we call upon the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments members to recognize the denial of this fundamental right to participate, and to direct public resources to ensure that this region offers its residents a fully functional transit system that allows them the ability to participate fully in all aspects of life in this community without regard to economic status.