[nfbmi-talk] FW: Great job team!

Fred Wurtzel f.wurtzel at att.net
Sun Apr 26 23:30:21 UTC 2015


 

 

From: Karla Hudson [mailto:Hudson.KC at live.com] 
Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2015 6:24 PM
To: 'Ody Norkin'; diane at michiganflyer.com; 'Fred Wurtzel'
Subject: Great job team!

 

Blind protest airport bus stop move

Mike Martindale, The Detroit News 5:50 p.m. EDT April 26, 2015

2015-0426-bb-AirportProtest084T.jpg

Lead by National Federation of the Blind of Michigan President Larry Posont,
protesters demonstrate against the relocation of a bus stop, that severely
diminished accessibility for blind travelers, at the McNamara Terminal of
Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus.(Photo: Brandy Baker / The Detroit
News)

Romulus - The National Federal of the Blind of Michigan picketed outside the
McNamara Terminal Sunday afternoon to bring attention to the relocation of a
public transportation bus stop - a move they say proves a particular
hardship to visually impaired travelers.

About a dozen members of the group, some with canes and service dogs,
gathered outside the terminal for about two hours displaying hand-lettered
signs like "We are not second-class citizens," "Safety for Seniors" and
"Equal Rights for Disabled Travelers."

Navigating around Detroit Metro Airport, even under the best conditions, can
prove a daunting task with traffic snarls, parking, homeland security checks
and last-minute flight changes. Add being blind to that mix increases that
frustration, said Larry Posont, president of the NFBMI, who led Sunday's
protest.

"The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that passenger waiting areas
be placed to minimize the distance which wheelchair users and other persons
with disabilities may have to travel compared to the general public," Posont
said. "Instead the airport maximized the distance."

Posont referred to the relocation of the public transportation bus stop from
curbside at mid-terminal to the far south end of the Ground Transportation
Center in the parking ramp across the road. The area is 200 yards from the
nearest indoor waiting area, restrooms and a water fountain.

"They took what was an independent activity for many of us and made it
dependent," said another protester, Terry Wilcox of Ann Arbor. "I used to be
able to be let off at the curb and head directly inside and to the ticket
counter. Now it's out one level, take an elevator to another, make several
turns through crowds and maybe you will get to your destination.

"Worse, we cannot see the signs that point the direction we are supposed to
be going in - we often rely on sound keys, voices, and public address
messages," she said . "Letting us off in a garage area where the noise of
plane engines drowns all that all out makes it impossible to hear them."

Mike Conway of the Wayne County Airport Authority said the bus relocation,
moved last September, was made for everyone's safety and stressed the
airport is compliant with all state and federal laws.

"Our international passenger traffic has really grown and with it, so has
vehicle and bus transportation to the airport," said Conway. "Some of the
buses were exiting and boarding passengers - not at the curb - but right in
the middle of two and three lanes of traffic. It just became too congested,
too dangerous."

Posont said the airport relocated the bus stop without any public hearing
despite concerns from his organization and others. He noted 2 percent of
Michigan's population, or about 200,000 people, are legally blind or have
vision challenges.

mmartindale at detroitnews.com

Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/1zaSRlz

 

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