I so appreciate the spirit of cooperation Darla expresses. I applaud it for
its nobility. I am not at all convinced, however, that it serves us best,
at least in the short term.
To be blunt, courtesy will not mend the injuries that will surely occur
"while the bugs are being worked out." For surely it is not a matter of IF
a bus rider-- disabled or not (though, practically speaking, more likely
disabled)-- gets hit by a motorist while making a transfer, but WHEN.
In fact, I had an exchange which went something like this at a listening
session I attended a couple of weeks ago:
FELLOW CITIZEN: I hear a lot of FEAR being expressed about these
crossings. I'm wondering if this is just fear of the unknown. I'm
wondering if you even have TRIED to make these crossings.
ME: I have had the amount of vision I now have for my entire life. I can
assure you that I am most able to assess of both my abilities and my
limitations. I have been at many of these intersections, either on foot or
in a car, and have considered them from my personal perspective. As a
responsible adult, making some of these crossing attempts is not a
reasonable risk for me to assume.
Then, Mr. Scheib advanced the idea that as more pedestrian/bus riders
became apparent "out on the streets", drivers would take note and become
more aware and cautious,
to which I remarked, "That's a fine THEORY, but I personally do not want
to be in the crosswalks beta testing it. Who will do that?"
FELLOW CITIZEN: "I will"
Good luck to him. Perhaps his estate can bequeath money to finance
paratransit for those forced off the fixed bus route.
The golden opportunity mentioned reeks of Ivory Tower thinking.
The REAL opportunity is that of being struck by a car, all in the
unfounded hopes that StarMetro will garnish increased ridership.
Erica
-----Original Message-----
From: Darla J. Rogers <djrogers0628@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Mon, Nov 9, 2009 11:14 am
Subject: [tabi] Re: my object to Nova 2010
And, this can't all come together at once; it isn't fiscally or physically
possible, at this time, but I believe we in TCB definitely have Star
Metro's
ear and that Star Metro has demonstrated a willingness to work with us and
learn from us, but to make this all work seamlessly is going to take time,
especially in these times of limited budget.
The city can probably apply for grants, as well, so if any one of you
knows
grants that might further the Nova 2010 project, please let Star Metro,
your
city and county commissioners know and do it in a respectful and logical
manner, as we may never have an opportunity like this again--at least not
anytime soon.
Darla
----- Original Message -----
From: "blindwilly" <blindwilly@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 9:58 PM
Subject: [tabi] Re: my object to Nova 2010
Chip,
I agree that we are all in a different place. Even though I think I
have
pretty good mobility, I know that there are many that don't and I
never
forget that. That is why early in the year, I started a dialog
about
accessibility and I have stayed in the race. One thing that I want
to
address is, really we are on the same side. We both want to have
good
accessibility and safe transfers: it is just a difference in our
approaches to achieve that goal. Think of this, if one way doesn't
work,
maybe the other will.
We are going to do just fine,
\
William
----- Original Message -----
From: "Allison and Chip Orange" <acorange@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 9:10 PM
Subject: [tabi] Re: my object to Nova 2010
Lynn,
I think Charles is right; we should be brave enough to tell people
what
we
cannot *safely* do; especially if, *if*, there's an alternative;
transfer
points where riders don't have to leave that point, and the planner
told
me
that was possible.
And one more thing Lynn; you're playing with other people's lives;
just
because you're willing to take the chance on crossing a busy
intersection
every day, should not mean that you argue so that others are also
forced
to
do that.
I just talked to a blind person in the last week, who has been blind
over
5
years, and does not yet feel confident in independent travel. he is
also
totally blind, which does make a *big* difference.
so, I don't feel bad in asking them to do things differently. I'm
not
doing
a "blackjack" and saying I won't play; not when I'm only asking for
a
change
in design.
and it's not just blind people who are effected; it's anyone in a
wheel-chair, or anyone who's elderly and may not walk as fast as
they
once
did, or is mobility impaired for any number of reasons.
so, I hope you'll think of all these things, and understand I'm
asking
them
to plan for all of these people, not cancel the entire project.
thanks for writing and telling us how you feel.
Chip
-----Original Message-----
From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
Behalf
Of Lynn Evans
Sent: Saturday, November 07, 2009 7:21 PM
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [tabi] Re: my object to Nova 2010
You are correct in saying there are no guarantees when it comes to
life.
it
is a crap shoot. A person steps out boldly from the curb of life
with the
mobility skills we have and takes their chances. You are asking for a
guarantee for city services? You mean like the electricity want
never go
out? The water will never be turned off? The trash will always be
picked
up?
Look at the changes Star Metro has made to their plan so far. We
asked
for a
route description and they gave it to us. Robert asked for the
Village
Square change and they did that.
Let us not do a "Blackjack" here and tell Star metro if they want
play by
our rules then we will not play,. the intersections where the
transfer
points are, need to be made as safe as humanly possible for
EVERYONE.
This
is what we need to tell the city commission.
It scares me to tell anyone, what I can't do. That puts me in a
vulnerable
position in their eyes.
We need to work with Star Metro or we are going to be left on the
curb as
the bus passes us by.
----- Original Message -----
From: Easy Talk <mailto:easytalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 2:40 PM
Subject: [tabi] Re: my object to Nova 2010
Chip, After much consideration and Soule searching, I am with you
100 percent. I am one who has been hit at an audible crossing. I am
certainly for decentralization but more work needs to be done and as
Heather
said Star Metro does transportation/buses not Sidewalks, Audible
signals
or
Police Safety. They can only educate but it is up to other
departments
to
do there part and so far there are no guarantees.
Robert
----- Original Message -----
From: Chip Orange <mailto:Corange@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 11:54 AM
Subject: [tabi] my object to Nova 2010
hi all,
I spoke with a StarMetro planner yesterday, and he said only
2 intersections of the possible 41 proposed for transfer points,
currently
have audible signals. (I think Lynn did tell us that).
perhaps, just perhaps, they'll be able to add 10, even 20,
in the next year, but by no means all of them will get audible
signals.
the point I made to him, and the one I intend to make to the
city commission unless there is a dramatic change in the plan, is
that no
intersection, even with an audible signal, is safe for a blind
person to
cross. audible signals only make it somewhat safer, but many of our
local
blind residents can testify about being hit. I don't think even
our
best,
most skillful, independent travelers, can say that crossing an
intersection
such as many of those proposed by StarMetro is safe; and, a number
of our
blind residents do not fall into the class of our "most skillful"
independent travelers.
I intend to urge the city commission to deny the entire plan
until the safety of disable riders can be assured by never requiring
a
transfer through an intersection; StarMetro has got to be forced to
come
up
with another way to handle transfers.
I know others of you have other objections to the plan, and
I've heard and agree with a lot of them, but this is to me, the
single
really good one, which is good enough to warrant the city commission
stopping implementation until it is worked out.
I do support other objections which have been raised,
including the one I just mentioned that with all the bus stops
moving to
new
locations, they are going to be hard to find, and that the routes
and the
location of stops require a lot of walking at times, which itself is
also
unsafe. but when I write the commission after the plan is submitted
to
them, I am only going to focus on the safety issue, as I think it's
the
most
important, and I don't want to overwhelm them in my letter with les
important objections.
I hope all of you will consider writing to the city
commission, but not until the plan has been submitted to them. any
letters
before then are evidently just forwarded to StarMetro, without
engaging
the
commissioners' attention.
thanks.
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.)
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and please make suggestions for new material.
if you'd like to unsubscribe you can do so through the freelists.org
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Check out the TABI resource web page at
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and please make suggestions for new material.
if you'd like to unsubscribe you can do so through the freelists.org web
interface, or by sending an email to the address
tabi-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject.
Check out the TABI resource web page at
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and please make suggestions for new material.
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