Laura
07-11-2007, 08:09 AM
http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/Room_to_roll_at_Atlantic_Ave/9295.html
Room to roll at Atlantic Ave.
by brian childs / metro new york
JUL 10, 2007
ATLANTIC AVENUE STATION. Until this week, Atlantic Avenue station was a potential trap for wheelchair-bound commuters.
If commuters in wheelchairs weren’t careful where they exited the train, they could get stuck between two columns, the stairwell and the platform edge.
According to Michael Harris of the Disabled Riders Coalition, the problem was reported in 2004 shortly after the station was made wheelchair accessible, but officials denied the problem and said there was nothing they could do.
This week, NYC Transit finished narrowing the staircase so wheelchairs could squeeze between the stairs and the columns. That took six weeks and $360,000. Harris says there are other wheelchair accessible stations with similar flaws, such as Herald Square, Junction Boulevard and 72nd Street. “We are talking about stations designed for disabled people which people with disabilities can’t use,” Harris said yesterday on the platform.
“Atlantic Avenue is a crucially important station for disabled people who live in Brooklyn, work in Brooklyn or have occasion to visit Brooklyn. We only wish they had the volition to do this right the first time,” said Harris. “Thirty-two inches is the minimum width allowed by law, so they are now, just barely, in compliance.”
Harris said the Disabled Riders Coalition is working with the Dept. of Justice in a preliminary investigation of NYC Transit regarding accessibility issues. A spokesperson from NYC Transit had no comment about the probe.
Room to roll at Atlantic Ave.
by brian childs / metro new york
JUL 10, 2007
ATLANTIC AVENUE STATION. Until this week, Atlantic Avenue station was a potential trap for wheelchair-bound commuters.
If commuters in wheelchairs weren’t careful where they exited the train, they could get stuck between two columns, the stairwell and the platform edge.
According to Michael Harris of the Disabled Riders Coalition, the problem was reported in 2004 shortly after the station was made wheelchair accessible, but officials denied the problem and said there was nothing they could do.
This week, NYC Transit finished narrowing the staircase so wheelchairs could squeeze between the stairs and the columns. That took six weeks and $360,000. Harris says there are other wheelchair accessible stations with similar flaws, such as Herald Square, Junction Boulevard and 72nd Street. “We are talking about stations designed for disabled people which people with disabilities can’t use,” Harris said yesterday on the platform.
“Atlantic Avenue is a crucially important station for disabled people who live in Brooklyn, work in Brooklyn or have occasion to visit Brooklyn. We only wish they had the volition to do this right the first time,” said Harris. “Thirty-two inches is the minimum width allowed by law, so they are now, just barely, in compliance.”
Harris said the Disabled Riders Coalition is working with the Dept. of Justice in a preliminary investigation of NYC Transit regarding accessibility issues. A spokesperson from NYC Transit had no comment about the probe.