[NFBF-Tampa] An Open Letter to the HART Board of Directors

Wed Aug 2 22:36:02 UTC 2017

An Open Letter to Hillsborough Area Regional Transit’s Board of Directors

Marion Gwizdala

Merry Schoch

1003 Papaya Drive

Tampa, Florida 33619

August 2, 2017

                Our names are Marion Gwizdala and Merry Schoch. We reside at
1003 Papaya Drive, approximately four blocks west of 78th Street and Palm
River Road in Commissioner Miller’s district. Merry owns a business, Ray of
Sunshine Empowerment Services LLC, a private psychotherapy practice located
at 710 Oakfield Drive, just west of King’s Avenue in the Credit Union
Building within Commissioner White’s district. Merry and I are both blind
and use Hillsborough Area Regional Transit as our primary transportation. We
are also advocates with the National Federation of the Blind at the local,
state, and national levels.

                We are writing these comments jointly to express our dismay
with the manner in which HART is making decisions they characterize in so
many positive ways but have a profound negative impact on the most
transit-dependent citizens. For instance, HART IS REDUCING SERVICE TO Tampa
General Hospital’s main campus which offer specialized clinics for the poor,
the Social Security office, the immigration office, and the Hillsborough
County Housing Authority. In addition, HART is eliminating service in
Brandon that serves Tampa General Hospital’s outpatient clinic, two
locations of Suncoast Community Health Clinic, the United States Post
Office, several medical office buildings, a major dialysis center, and the
Brandon Public Library. One common denominator I see in all these cuts is
the effect they have on the disabled, the poor, and the otherwise
disenfranchised. When asked how those who currently rely upon public
transportation will get to some of these places, HART officials proudly tell
us how the hyperlink service can be used to fill in these gaps. I realize it
is a very challenging concept for someone like HART’s leadership who earn
upwards to $25,000 monthly to grasp, but a single mother who is eligible for
Medicaid cannot afford the $20.00 round-trip fare for her and her child to
get to the doctor’s office. In HART’s latest proposal, they claim those
wishing to go to Tampa General Hospital from the northbound trip will “hop
on the southbound route 19 trip”. Since HART makes it sound so easy to “hop
on”, it will be interesting to find out what sort of connectivity the two
trips will make. 

                On July 22, Marco Sandusky made a presentation to the Tampa
Bay Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. During this
presentation Mr. Sandusky asserted that the consultants proposing these
modifications had ridden the buses and these changes would provide more
efficient and effective service with greater connectivity. He then proceeded
to share how the route 19 would be moved from the Marion Transitway, a
street  exclusively for HART buses, and moved two blocks west to travel on
Tampa Street, a busy corridor of vehiclular traffic, requiring those of us
who wish to connect with that route to either walk the two blocks to connect
or travel to the Marion Transit Center and wait for a departing bus. He told
us how the typically filled-to-capacity route 2 that currently serves
Nebraska Avenue would be eliminated and served by the Metro Rapid Transit
route with only limited stops along the way. He assured us they would add
more stops. When pressed as to how many more, we were told “between 4 – 10”.
Not only is there a very large difference between the two figures, the
proposed addition of seven stops still results in drastic reduction and
inaccessibility along that route. 

Mr. Sandusky also advised us of the elimination of the route 10. We asked
how disabled individuals and the poor will be able to travel to the Social
Security office, the Hillsborough County Housing Authority, and the
Immigration office  currently served by the route 10 slated for elimination
and were assured the flex route with a maximum capacity of twelve passengers
will be an option. Though this may be true, imagine if you are the
thirteenth passenger and need to wait another hour for the next vehicle in
95 degree heat. Perhaps you might be the thirteenth passenger during the
next trip, too! and This is something characterized as “more efficient” and
providing “greater connectivity”. 

During the public hearing on July 26, I asserted that “riding” a bus is very
different than “using” public transportation. HART’s consultants rode the
bus but they did not rely upon its use to get to work, school, doctor’s
appointments, social services, or recreation.

                Mr. Sandusky also asserted that the changes were made based
upon a very large database; however, when we asked Mr. Sandusky how many
disabled individuals would lose their paratransit service due to the
elimination of routes within the ¾ mile radius HART is required to service,
we were told that number was “very small”. When we pressed for a number, we
were told they did not know. I 

am unsure how both assertions can be true; the number is either very small
or they do not know – both cannot be true. Perhaps the alternative facts are
either they know but do not want to tell us because of the outrage it would
create or they do not care so did not consider the impact on its disabled
patrons. In fact, we heard from a number of paratransit patrons during the
July 26 public hearing how these cuts will trap them in their homes. 

                Those of us who are transit-dependent make our choices of
where we live and work based partly upon the transportation options
available to us. This is true of the choice my wife and I made for her
office. In July 2016 when we signed a three year lease for the space where
her business is located, we had three options to get to the office. We could
go into work by taking the route 37 and getting off across the street or we
could schedule a deviation on the Brandon Flex. If the weather were good, we
could even take the route 46 and get some exercise by walking from Brandon
Blvd. and Buckingham. Coming home was even easier, since there is a route 37
stop in front of the office building. In addition, Merry is a vendor for the
state of Florida providing mental health counseling services to the Florida
Divisions of Vocational Rehabilitation and, within the next month, Blind
Services. Now, based upon the elimination of the route 37 and Brandon Flex,
she and her clients will either need to take the route 46 to Buckingham and
Brandon Blvd. or Oakfield and Vonderbyrg Drive. Niether option affords a
safe pedestrian route to the office, since there are no contiguous , direct
sidewalks on either route. Returning home will require we either walk to
Oakfield and Nolan or cross busy Brandon Blvd. and Kings Avenue, since we
have been told it is not feasible to have a bus stop on King’s. Both
intersections are dangerous pedestrian crossings due to the vehicullar right
turn lanes and drivers with little concern or awareness of pedestrians.

                We propose HART restructure the Brandon Flex to serve the
corridor between Lakewood and Parsons Avenue rather than eliminate it,
servicing to BrandonREgional Medical Center, the Brandon Library, and U.S
Renal Care on W Lumsden Road. This would allow the route 46 to continue its
route down Brandon Blvd. Parenthetically, HART was asked how a 40-foot bus
was going to make the proposed turn from southbound Parsons Avenue onto
westbound Oakfield Drive and were told they had not yet taken a bus on that
route to test its feasibility. All the data in the world is no substitute
for practical considerations.

                In summary, though HART calls their plan “Modernizing and
Aligning for Excellence”, none of the words in this are true! It is not
modernizing, it is not aligned with community needs, and it is definitely
not excellent. Similarly, HART’s new motto “Wherever you’re going, HART gets
you there” IS EQUALLY UNTRUE. Hart tells us their plan is based on sound
data, those of us who use the system and rely upon it are not convinced the
data is reliable. How can it be so if the second busiest flex route – the
Brandon Flex – is eliminated? How can it be so when the leg of route 46
between downtown and the Brandon Mall which is nearly always full is
eliminated? How can it be true when the route 2 serving Nebraska Avenue,
another consistently high volume corridor is eliminated? 

                We urge you to vote against the plan HART is proposing and
demand they find another way to modernize and align the system for
excellence – one that is truly modern, aligned with the transportation needs
of its patrons and creates an excellent system rather than an antiquated,
disconnected, pitiable transportation service. 

Respectfully submitted,

Marion Gwizdala

Merry Schoch 

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