[Nfb-kzoo] Proposed Letter to Metro Transit

[Moss, Corda (DELEG)]

Excellent letter, J.J.

Corda Moss
Administrative Assistant
Michigan Commission for the Blind
Training Center
Phone: 269 337 3854
Fax: 269 337 3872


-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-kzoo-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfb-kzoo-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of J.J. Meddaugh
Sent: Saturday, March 28, 2009 11:05 AM
To: NFB of Kalamazoo Michigan List
Subject: [Nfb-kzoo] Proposed Letter to Metro Transit

I would like to send the following to the director of Metro Transit, as
they are set up to receive over 3 million in federal stimulus money for
capital improvements. This is a rough draft, so probably needs some
work. Thoughts?

Dear Mr. Schomisch:

My name is J.J. Meddaugh, and I a member of the Kalamazoo chapter of the
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan. I am writing to thank you
for your willingness to improve accessibility of the Metro Transit
system and ask for your consideration on some proposed improvements.

I read with interest the probable allocation of roughly 3.1 million
dollars of Federal stimulus funds to be spent on capital improvements. I
would like to recommend that a portion of this money be used to outfit
the entire bus fleet with a modern positioning and audible stop
announcement system which would help to increase access to blind and
visually impaired passengers.

Unfortunately, the current system used to announce stops is
unpredictable and inadequate. Only major stops are announced, and the
driver must manually activate the announcement. This often leads to
inconsistency and confusion. If an automatic system were to announce
every stop on each route, this would allow the driver to more
effectively concentrate on the roads while providing a better experience
for passengers. In addition, GPS technology could be used to offer
realtime bus information to all passengers in multiple forms.

I have experienced audible systems announcing every stop in systems
large and small, and the audio announcements are not seen as cumbersome
or an annoyance. This funding provides for an excellent time to
implement such a system.

The Kalamazoo chapter of the National Federation of the Blind would be
happy to work with you and your organization to implement this system,
secure additional matching funds, and determine the most reliable and
usable technology for this project. In addition, we would be happy to
answer any questions you may have. I urge you to consider this request,
and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
J.J. Meddaugh

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