[nabs-l] more transportation, and travel questions

[Kerri Kosten]

Hi All:

I have a few more travel and transportation questions. Again, I hope
these don't jump around too much but I figured I'd make them all one
post.

First, I think I would like to try sometime in the future taking the
bus to somewhere simple such as maybe the mall. The problem Iam having
is that this being a college town the bus caters to the nondriving
students, who are the freshman. The freshman for the most part live
downtown on the downtown campus (the college has two campuses.) I do
not live in the downtown area so to go anywhere from my house on the
bus I'd have to make a transfer at most likely one of the two bus
depots.

When I've tried to contact the bus in the past, they tell me that the
bus comes to the light at the six-lane highway that is the first
street you come to after you exit the gate of my apartment complex. My
apartment complex isn't very accessible...when I moved here I didn't
know about the NFB so accessability wasnt one of the priorities. On
top of that my mother who is very overprotective really liked this
complex because it is gated and has security after 6 o'clock.

Anyway, from what a friend in the NFB who doesn't live here but lives
in another town about half an hour away who has taken our bus before
tells me, the bus supposedly has a deviated route system where they
will go out of the way of the route one-fourth of a mile and pick you
up, almost like paratransit. I'd like to try to take the bus somewhere
simple.

However, I feel a little overwhelmed. Do I call and begin by telling
them I am blind, and would like to try taking their bus for the first
time and ask them what accomodations they have for people with
disabilities and ask them about the deviated route system?

Then from there, do I explain where I live which is at the Suncrest Village
Apartment Complex on Maple Drive and that I would like to go to the
Morgantown Mall in Westover and ask them which lines I would need to
take, and what times the lines run?

I understand that in order to use the deviated route service I need to
apply and fill out paperwork...but I figured I'd start by just asking
general questions and see where I get from there.

Since I'll most likely have a transfer at one of the depots, is there
anything I should know about bus depots? From what my friend who has
taken the bus before says all the buses line up along the curb...but
I've also been told bus depots are where a lot of homeless hang out so
is there anything I should know about them? Should I not carry certain
items? From what my friend said, he and his wife took three buses here
and everyone was very friendly and nice and the bus drivers even get
out of the bus and announce what line the bus is when they approach.
HHowever, he says they do not announce stops as they come to them or
announce intersections as they come to them which they are supposed to
do. I figure when I get on the bus I will ask the driver to please let
me know when we get to the line I need to get off at.

Yes, the bus company does have a website but their routes are laid out
in a map which is inaccessible to screenreaders...you can get a
description of which line goes where but you can't access the times or
location of each stop.

Our bus which is called Mountain Line is also on both Twitter and
Facebook and they update frequently with updates if a route has to
deviate for construction or something like that.



My next questions bring up an issue that I just found out about, that
I wanted to get your opinions on.

We have an area with
sevral stores, restaurants, and a movie theater called University Town
Center. I initially was under
the assumption it was a strip mall and everything could be walked to.
So, I thought I could just simply take the bus there and make that my
first bus trip.

However, it turns out it is very inaccessible and not pedestrian
friendly at all. The buildings are very spread out along a mile-long
hill
and to get from one to the other you have to go across a four-lane
highway-like street and through the store's parking lots. I did some
research and apparently these are popping up in several areas and they
are called "metroplex shopping centers." I asked whether maybe I could
have someone from Customer Service walk me from one place to another
such as from one of the restaurants to the movie theater but I've been
told it's not possible as the area wasn't built for pedestrians. This
shopping center contains stores such as Starbucks, Target, Sams Club,
Macys, Walmart, T.J. Macs, Barnes and Noble, Giant Eagle, a shoe
store, a dress store, and Bestbuy. Some of the restaurants are Cicis
Pizza, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Cheddars, Cracker Barrel, Golden
Karrowe, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Chillis just to name a few.

Obviously, it would be very very convient to be able to be dropped off
at this University Town Center, and get everything done in one
place...maybe get a coffee from Starbucks, go to Walmart to get
groceries, then maybe go to one of the restaurants or to catch a movie
at the movie theater.

There are other places I could go in town and get the same things done
but they wouldn't be as efficient.

Obviously, the people who built this town center did not consider
pedestrians at all and just assumed everyone would be able to drive.

Does anyone else have these types of shopping centers in their area
and can anything be done to make it more pedestrian friendly or maybe
have a shuttle that would go from store to store? Considering this
area has already been completed and built, I've been told there is no
point in battling it because it would cost too much to fix it and it'd
be too much work/reconstruction.

Do I just find other ways to get the same things done and quit my
griping or does action need to be taken?

Like I said, I could go to the mall to get something to eat and see a
movie, then maybe drive through Starbucks afterwords on my way home. I
could do my grocery shopping at Kroger which is right near me...but
for a beginning traveler I thought it'd be neat to go to this one area
and get evrything done in one convient location and not only that but
get to practice cane travel as well.

And, yes from what I've read on their website, the bus does go to this
University Towncenter several times a day. But, since it isn't
pedestrian friendly, I don't know if it would drop me off at one
store, then pick me up and take me to another store, one of the
restaurants, or the movie theater? As I said, I am very upset about
this because that'd be a simple place to start out with and practice
travel/get some things done all at the same time in one location.

Thoughts? Are these "metroplex shopping centers" common where you live
and if so can most of you who are better travelers than I navigate
them with ease?

Thanks so much and I know my posts jump around a lot but I really want
to try taking the bus somewhere simple, and I thought this University
town center would be simple...but I guess I could just take the bus to
the mall instead.

Kerri