‘T’ guide for disabled published

‘T’ guide for disabled published
September 20, 2004
(Source: alpha-one.org)

BOSTON, Mass. – Chris Hart knows firsthand how tough it can be for an individual living with a disability to get around on the MBTA.

After all, the 26-year-old, living with cerebral palsy, has been riding T trains and buses in a wheelchair for most of his life.

“What frightens many disabled T users is that they don't know what to expect when they get on the system,'' said Hart, who recently helped author “Getting Around Boston: A Guide to Riding the T for People of All Abilities.''

Hart works for Boston nonprofit Adaptive Environments, which the T hired to produce the free brochure.

The 64-page, full-color guide provides detailed information about every elevator, ramp, escalator, emergency phone and street orientation in all 80 T stations.

It's the first comprehensive accessibility guide of any U.S. transit system.

“We approached the T about doing the guide as a way for them to equate accessibility with customer service,'' said Valerie Fletcher, Adaptive Environments' executive director. “We wanted it to be for all T users. If it helps a disabled T rider on a scooter, it will also be good for a mother who needs to get a stroller into a station.''

Fletcher, a former state Mental Health Department deputy commissioner, got the idea for the brochure after coming across a similar guide of the London subway.

The Boston brochure, now available at the South Station, Downtown Crossing, Park, State and Government Center T stops, includes detailed maps of handicapped-accessible routes through T stations.

“I've never seen anything like this guide,'' said Stephen Spinetto, Boston's disability-issues commissioner. “I'm impressed.''

Adaptive Environments relied on actual disabled people to help write the guide.

Hart, who studies urban design at Harvard University, has had cerebral palsy his whole life. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the T, including a stint as a bus monitor checking mobile lifts.

The five-person team that produced the guide also included a 70-year-old architect with bad knees.

The team spent months trekking through every T station, checking and rechecking information.

“The guide puts the T's focus where it should be - on customer service," said Barbara Boylan, the T's director of design.

She noted that 87 percent of the T's 80 stations are now handicapped accessible, with most others to follow within the next three years.

The T has already printed 18,000 copies of the free guide. The agency paid $9,000 for printing and distribution, plus an undisclosed fee to Adaptive Environments.

The T plans to update the guide after the Silver Line extension opens, and as Red, Green and Blue Line station renovations finish.

Even those critical of the T's accessibility record say the guide has a lot of useful information.

But some say they'd like even more detail, such as sizes of individual elevators and gaps between platforms and trains.

“The guide presents accessibility on the T as it should be - but often isn't,'' said Helen Hendrickson, community organizer of the Boston Center for Independent Living.

Her group has an ongoing lawsuit against the T over handicapped access.

Adaptive Environments' Fletcher admits the guide “is not going to fix the T, but it will show riders how to make it work for them. It makes the T less mysterious and less risky.''