[nfbmi-talk] FW: Great job team!

[J.J. Meddaugh]

Very impressed with the media coverage this event got.
Well done.

Best regards,
J.J.

On 4/26/2015 7:30 PM, Fred Wurtzel via nfbmi-talk wrote:
>   
>
>   
>
> 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
>
>   
>
>
>
> This body part will be downloaded on demand.