skip to main |
skip to sidebar
From
The SF Weekly:
Not everyone is excited about the brand new fleet of BART cars that's
supposed to make your commute quieter, more comfortable, and less
smelly.
BART riders with disabilities say the new fleet -- expected to roll out in the next two years -- actually offers less access
for them. Specifically, the new design has added handhold poles in the
middle of the entry ways, giving standing passengers something to hang
onto while the train is moving.
But that pole is blocking the ability for wheelchair users and other
riders with disabilities to access handicap seating, says Jessie Lorenz,
executive director of Independent Living Resource Center San Francisco, which serves 5,000 people in San Francisco.
The issue has motivated passengers with disabilities and activists to protest the grand opening of the new BART fleet tomorrow afternoon.
"Our message is simple: they need to remove the damn poles," Lorenz tells SF Weekly.
Lorenz, who is blind, says she got a call from one of BART's managers
today who asked her to cancel the protest. But Lorenz says her
community isn't backing down from their request. "They're trying to give
us this song and dance that they're getting so much flak from the bike
community because they don't accommodate bikes to which I say: this is a
Civil Rights issue," Lorenz says.
"[The BART manager] straight up said 'yes this is going to cause more
problems for people who board trains with mobility problems and
strollers, but how much sacrifice for the few do we make for the ability
of many to stand -- and stand safely?'"
BART Spokeswoman Alicia Trost says that BART has tweaked its pole design after
hearing various complaints from passengers. While they have no plans to
ditch the handhold poles, the transit agency has moved it several
inches away from the wheelchair area, increasing the width of the path
to 49 inches.
In addition, BART has also raised the point where the three tripod
branches meet the pole by 3 to 4 inches to eliminate "pinch points" for
wheelchair users.
"We also plan to actively remind customers to step aside to make room
for wheelchair users to more easily enter and exit the train,
especially when conditions are crowded," BART states on its website.
But that's not really going to solve the accessibility issue for
wheelchair users and passengers using scooters, Lorenz says. She points
to Washington, D.C. which is currently being sued for the very same
thing.
Tomorrow at 11 a.m., Lorenz and fellow activists plan to attend BART's grand opening of its new fleet at the Justin Herman Plaza. But they won't be there to celebrate.
"We know we have less political pull than the Bike Coalition, and
it's playing out," Lorenz says. "Our folks have had a hard time
accessing BART since they allowed bikes on trains at all times so this has culminated and everyone is ready to take it to the streets."
