[tabi] Re: Fw: Nova 2010
- From: "Chip Orange" <Corange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:38:50 -0400
Very Very good Darla!!!
All of it true of course.
What I was amazed at however, was her "we're not going to modify our
system for a few riders ..." attitude. Someone needs to explain to her
that A) it's the law! not a suggestion! and B), it benefits everyone
when we do so (those who are elderly, walking with aids, or simply not
always looking at every car all the time). The examples of how
beneficial curb-cuts for wheel-chairs have turned out to be is just one
example.
I could not believe she said anything like that; it's an attitude from
40 years ago.
Thanks for writing her.
You know, how is any person who can't drive for whatever reason supposed
to buy a house somewhere, based on it "being accessible to public
transit", if the city keeps changing and reducing the public transit
areas served? It's literally a moving target.
Chip
------------------------------
Chip Orange
Database Administrator
Florida Public Service Commission
Chip.Orange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(850) 413-6314
(Any opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not
necessarily reflect those of the Florida Public Service Commission.)
________________________________
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of djrogers0628
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 5:17 PM
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] Fw: Nova 2010
Importance: High
Here is what I wrote to Ms. Lightsey. Wonder if she'll even
respond.
----- Original Message -----
From: djrogers0628 <mailto:djrogers0628@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: debbie.lightsey@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 4:57 PM
Subject: Nova 2010
Dear Ms. Lightsey:
I have been back in Tallahassee nearly 3 years, and I lived here
1.5 years in 2004-2005. During these times, I have never known you to
side with disabled Tallahassee residents--especially the blind.
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I did not make it to
last night's City Commission meeting but know the people who spoke about
the issues regarding Nova 2010 did so eloquently, so I won't
re-summarize what was said by them. I am speaking for myself and my
husband who is also blind.
We have lived at
2000 N. Meridian Rd.
for over 2 years. We were told this area is very accessible to
blind and visually-impaired persons. Nothing could be further from the
truth.
Both my husband and I have used public transportation in a
number of cities to go to and from work and to recreate, run errands,
visit friends, etc.
First there are no Audible Pedestrian Signals (APS) in this
neighborhood, so crossing Monroe at John Knox is a crap shoot, as it is
very difficult to hear the traffic patterns to let me or my husband know
it is safe to cross. We also cannot cross Meridian at Bradford or John
Knox safely--we would need to cross Meridian at Bradford Road to find
the only sidewalks that are on Meridian Road in our neighborhood.
Second, on our side of Meridian Road, there is virtually no
sidewalk between Bradford Road and John Knox. I have talked to both the
city and county about this issue and have been told that it is a state
highway and thus not under the jurisdiction of either entity to make
sidewalk improvements to make it safe to navigate around the
neighborhood.
In addition to there not being sidewalks on this side of
Meridian Road, there is an uncovered culvert for storm run-off;; this
forces us to stand and wait for traffic to clear on Meridian Road before
we step out in the street and run several feet to get around it and back
up on the curb out of Meridian Road.
As an educated woman, I believe you owe it to your constituents
to learn more about the issues on which you vote; you obviously, do not
know anything about the blindness community, or you would realize that
being able to use Star Metro effectively, would provide freedom we
currently don't possess because Dial-a-Ride reservations must be made 24
hours in advance, and it is very difficult to make it on time if one has
more than one appointment for the day. Taxi fare has gone up
considerably, and neither of us is currently employed. Using Star Metro
would allow for more spontaneous trips, though the current Nova 2010
Plan does not give us any evening service.
I challenge you to leave your car at home--that would put less
carbon monoxide etc. into the air--and walk up to your bus stop and take
Star Metro to and from work for a week and ask Dial-a-Ride if you can
become a temporary rider to see what using that service is like.
Blind and visually impaired people do vote, and believe me, if
there isn't more willingness to really hear and understand our issues,
we will encourage all of our community and friends, coworkers and
business associates to vote with us.
We are not unaware of budget constraints, but, in the long run
money would be saved if blind and visually impaired people had safe ways
to navigate the city. You know we are not lying about the unsafe
pedestrian situation in Tallahassee. I know you saw the study done and
saw the dismal rating Tallahassee received.
So, in closing, I challenge you to "walk a mile in our shoes."
Only then can you cast educated votes that really represent the
blindness community. There are many more people with disabilities--many
invisible--who live here and need to get about the city using public
transportation because they cannot drive either.
Sincerely,
Darla J. Rogers, B.A. Social Science; M.S. Rehabilitation
Counselor Education
djrogers0628@xxxxxxxxxxx
Home phone #: 850-329-7437
Cell #: 850-443-3571
Skype ID: wildflower0628
I suited up for the long walk back to myself...
....Ani DiFranco
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