[nfbmi-talk] more detail on metro ada settlement

[David Robinson]

Joe,

  Sounds as if promises are being made by the airport that may or may not 
come true.  Also, you must think that if they were so concerned about us, 
then the changes would be made before the drop off was changed.  As soon as 
the bad publicity goes away, so will the kind words and promises.  Its all 
about money, not service.

Dave
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "joe harcz Comcast via nfbmi-talk" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, October 17, 2014 3:18 PM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] more detail on metro ada settlement


Just wonderring how long they will take to make the path of travel fully ADA 
compliant, which it should have been to begin with!

Joe
Detroit Metro Airport, disability advocates settle suit

Leonard N. Fleming, The Detroit News 1:26 p.m. EDT October 17, 2014

Airport-DC-02.JPG



Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus. (Photo: David Coates , The Detroit News )



Advocates for the disabled and elderly today settled a lawsuit against 
Detroit Metropolitan Airport with an agreement to make it more convenient 
for the

disabled and the elderly to get to the terminal from public buses and vans.



The Wayne County Airport Authority has agreed to modify the Ground 
Transportation Center with an indoor information counter for the service 
providers, direct

dial phones for passengers who need assistance, better signage and wider 
lanes for buses.



The agreement was announced in U.S. District Court in Detroit Friday morning 
after days of negotiations. At issue was the airport’s decision last month

to no longer allow public transportation services to pick up and drop off 
passengers at the McNamara Terminal.



The plaintiffs in the lawsuit contended they would be forced to navigate 
their way to the terminal from a long distance in inclement weather.



The move prompted a flurry of protest letters and a call from Gov. Rick 
Snyder for both sides to achieve an amicable outcome.



In return for the improvements, the buses for Michigan Flyer-Air Ride agree 
to continue operating out of the Ground Transportation Center. Passengers 
who

are disabled or elderly will have help getting to and from the 
transportation center. That will be provided by either a representative of 
the transit service

or a contractor of Delta Airlines, the agreement states.



Michael Harris, one of the two plaintiffs in the case who is involved with 
the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America, called it a “win-win for 
everyone

involved.”



“We’re really getting what we wanted to get,” Harris said. “We’re getting an 
airport that people will be able to access in a safe environment. I believe

it’s a win for (the airport) because the traveling public, able and 
disabled, will have an enjoyable flying experience. Both sides were willing 
to compromise

and at the end of the day we have outcome that both sides can live with.”



Airport officials, who had remained silent about the lawsuit, said they are 
happy with the agreement.



“We are pleased to work in a spirit of cooperation with representatives of 
the plaintiffs, as well as Michigan Flyer, to reach a consensus we all 
accept,”

said airport authority CEO Thomas Naughton in a statement. “This is a great 
example of reasonable people working together to create a safer and more 
customer-friendly

environment.”



Jason Turkish, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the disability rights 
community, said the airport was wrong in thinking that moving the drop-off 
and pick-up

sites to the transportation center promoted safety.



Turkish said the biggest change is the presence of permanent staff in a 
climate- controlled part of the airport to help monitor when people need 
help to

and from the public transportation buses.



“This is going to allow disabled and non-disabled passengers alike to not 
have to go wait outside for the bus,” he said. “They are going to be able to 
stay

in the comfort, convenience and safety of a climate controlled environment 
until the time when the bus is going to arrive.”



Although the walk is still 600 feet from the drop off location to the 
terminal, the pathway that passengers will walk along will be completely 
remodeled

so it complies to Americans with Disabilities Act, Turkish said.



Naughton, who along with other airport officials contended the move from the 
increasingly congested McNamara Terminal was needed, was “always about 
customer

safety.”



“We are comfortable that the GTC enhancements, to which we have all agreed, 
maintain a safe environment for our customers,” he said.



lfleming at detroitnews.com



(313) 222-2620

Source:



http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2014/10/17/detroit-metro-airport-disability-advocates-lawssuit/17436855/
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