[tabi] Fw: Nova 2010
- From: "djrogers0628" <djrogers0628@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:16:42 -0400
Here is what I wrote to Ms. Lightsey. Wonder if she'll even respond.
----- Original Message -----
From: djrogers0628
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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