I've been asked to publish the following email conversation re Nova 2010. I have to agree with Owen: Mr. Garrison is definitely taking what looks to be a polite statement such as "I can certainly understand your need to ...", and goes on to claim support for his ideas from this, and implies the author is in full agreement with Mr. Garrison. I think this is playing fast and lose with the truth, and makes all of Mr. Garrison's claims for support from other organizations for the disabled, suspect. 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: John Plescow Sent: Friday, August 27, 2010 9:42 AM To: Chip Orange Subject: FW: FW: NOVA 2010 Please, see the following related to Nova2010. ________________________________ From: mccaulo@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:mccaulo@xxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 5:47 PM To: commissioners@xxxxxxxxxx; ronald.garrison@xxxxxxxxxx; John Plescow; eworley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Fwd: FW: NOVA 2010 Looking at the e-mail from Mr. Garrison and the e-mail from Ms. Worley of the Lighthouse, one could argue that StarMetro (specifically Mr. Garrison) has once again distorted certain facts as they relate to Nova 2010. Owen B. McCaul 1711 Monticello Drive Tallahassee, Florida 32303 (850) 385-8702 -----Original Message----- From: Owen McCaul <mccaulo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: mccaulo@xxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thu, Aug 26, 2010 5:35 pm Subject: Fwd: FW: NOVA 2010 Attached Message From: John Plescow <JPlescow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: Owen McCaul <McCaulO@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; ericamccaul@xxxxxxxxxxxx; lpulliam@xxxxxxxxxxxx; sue ellen smith <sue_ellensmith@xxxxxxxxx> Subject: FW: NOVA 2010 Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:34:08 -0400 ________________________________ From: Evelyn Worley [mailto:eworley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:eworley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx?> ] Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 4:11 PM To: John Plescow Cc: Barbara Ross Subject: Re: NOVA 2010 Hi John. We definitely applaude the use of the octagonal poles and the large print signs. As a non-profit, we certainly do understand budget constraints. However, Barbara and I DID advocate for braille signage in our conversation with StarMetro staff. We believe that any signs with large print should also have braille. Thanks. Evelyn Worley, COMS, CVRT Lighthouse of the Big Bend NEW LOCATION! 3071 Highland Oaks Terrace Tallahassee, FL 32301 (850) 942-3658 x203 Fax (850) 942-4518 ----- Original Message ----- From: John Plescow <mailto:JPlescow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: eWorley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 2:52 PM Subject: FW: NOVA 2010 ________________________________ From: Branch, Cathy [mailto:Cathy.Branch@xxxxxxxxxx <mailto:Cathy.Branch@xxxxxxxxxx?> ] Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 2:06 PM To: John Plescow Subject: FW: NOVA 2010 -----Original Message----- From: Garrison, Ron Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2010 2:00 PM To: Branch, Cathy Subject: FW: NOVA 2010 Cathy, As we discussed I wanted to address this myself, as I have spoken to Mr. Plescow on numerous occasions. Consequently, I wanted to take a little more time with this. --------------------------------------- Mr. Plescow, Thank you for your suggestions for improvements to the new route structure and your support of our upgraded bus stop design. StarMetro chose the octagonal design to make the stops readily identifiable to the visually impaired. Using the octagonal design goes above and beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG); moreover, the design has received support from Ability First, Lighthouse of the Big Bend, and the Transit Advisory Committee. Using this StarStop pole design represents StarMetro's commitment to providing excellent customer service and improving accessibility for our patrons. Employing Braille placards/route identifiers is not common practice in the transit industry, nor is it required by the ADAAG. Systems like Gainesville RTS and Lynx (Orlando Metro) do not have Braille placards on their bus stops or stop identifiers in their system. In addition, Broward County Transit (who also employs the octagonal pole) does not place Braille placards on their bus stops. We also contacted the Florida Department of Transportation ADA Coordinator, Ability First, and Lighthouse of the Big Bend concerning this issue. They understand our decision not to use Braille placards and applaud us for both using the octagonal poles and large lettered route identifiers at the stops. The problem with employing Braille placards and stop identifiers is the costs and logistics to employ and maintain the system, making it cost prohibitive. The placards would have to be ordered and made stop specific before they could be installed. Depending on the amount of information that must be contained on the Braille placard, a separate sign would need to be ordered. After installation, maintenance crews would be required to survey the stops on a regular basis to ensure the Braille placards are still in place. If the stops were individually numbered as requested, any time a new stop was added or a stop was removed all of the affected routes or stops would need to be renumbered. For these reasons, it is difficult to employ Braille placards. By employing the octagonal poles, we would only buy one piece of equipment to make the stops identifiable to the visually impaired. In the event a stop is removed, damaged, or stolen, it can be quickly replaced. In addition, each stop will have a route identification sign placed on it with 3" high letters consistent with ADAAG. With the exception of the transfer points and a few route segments, stops along each corridor are only served by one route as compared to multiple routes on corridors today. Therefore, patrons will be able to quickly identify what route they are riding and its destinations. StarMetro is also redesigning the Ride Guide this fall making it more readable and accessible to the visually impaired community. StarMetro is also exploring the possibility of employing a trip planning application prior to the launch of nova2010. The trip planning software will allow patrons to enter their origin and destination in a website and receive transit travel instructions similar to what is produced by MapQuest or Google Maps. All of these improvements will make the new structure easier to navigate and for our customers Again, thank you for your time and voicing your concerns and improvements to the new system. Ronald L. Garrison Executive Director 555 So. Appleyard Dr. Tallahassee, FL 32304 P 850-891-5044 * EMAIL: nova2010project@xxxxxxxxxx * CALL: nova2010 Hotline, (850) 891-5283 * FOLLOW: nova2010 on facebook & twitter -----Original Message----- From: Townsend, Jay Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 11:33 AM To: Menendez, Al Subject: FW: NOVA 2010 Al - please provide a response to the customer. Thanks, Jay Jay Townsend Assistant City Manager Development and Transportation City Hall, 4th Floor 300 S. Adams Street Tallahassee, Florida 32301-1731 Office: (850)891-8208 Fax: (850)891-8669 www.talgov.com -----Original Message----- From: Branch, Cathy Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 11:31 AM To: Townsend, Jay Cc: 'JPlescow@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx' Subject: FW: NOVA 2010 Jay: Please address Mr.. Plescow's concerns regarding NOVA 2010. -----Original Message----- From: John Plescow [mailto: <mailto:%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0%C2%A0?> ; ] Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 9:24 AM To: Branch, Cathy Subject: NOVA 2010 On August 12, 2010, I visited the CK Steele Plaza. I was there to see the public meeting advertised by StarMetro and the City of Tallahassee. During my visit I spoke with Mr. Waterman and other Starmetro staff regarding my concerns about the new bus routing plan. StarMetro has agreed to use octagonal shaped poles to hold the bus stop signs. They believe that the unique eight-sided posts will make it easier for blind and visually impaired bus riders to be able, with just a touch, to identify that they are at a bus stop. I was also informed that Braille placards, that would identify the route, may not be place on the post, at the bus stops. The reasoning as I understand it is that the octagonal post were all that was needed to identify the location as a bus stop. Yes, the uniquely shaped post will help individuals identify that they are at a bus stop. But, without adequate and accessible signage, they will not know if the bus they need serves that bus stop. Given the complex nature of the new routing system, and since riders will no longer have the reliable option of asking for routing information at the ticket window at C.K. Steele Plaza, I suggested that every bus stop be uniquely identified by a three digit code. For example, the 22nd stop on the Gulf route could be identified as G22. This simple three character code would provide both a way to identify the route and the specific stop. I further suggested like addresses, the even stop numbers could be on the same side of the street with the even number addresses and the odd stop numbers located on the odd side of the street. Thus a rider would know if he was getting off/on at G22, that stop would be on the even side of the street. Note that there will be some stops that multiple bus routes will use. In those cases, more than one placard could be used. For example, a stop could show it was G22, and R20. This would insure that bus riders could be confident that they were using the correct stop. ************************************************************************ ************ This footnote confirms that this email message has been scanned by PineApp Mail-SeCure for the presence of malicious code, vandals & computer viruses. ************************************************************************ ************