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- A very, very large percentage
of people with disabilities are transit dependent.
So we need transit to be able
to just get people with disabilities
around their communities at all.
- Accessibility along transit lines,
I think is important for everyone,
not just people with disabilities,
not just older age adults
because everyone has different circumstances.
I mean, you could have a single mom,
so they have a stroller.
Having that accessibility feature
for all types of transit is pretty crucial
- And transportation's very important to me
because I can't get around without it.
It is very important to reach out
to the different communities,
especially those with disabilities
and understand what their needs are
so that people aren't limited to where they work and live
just because of the transportation issue.
- It's very difficult when you have people
who are making policy decisions in a vacuum.
They're not talking to the people
who's gonna be impacted by their decisions,
which is why it was just such a breathtaking experience
to have MTA open to that
and open to really hearing what people's needs are
and how we can fix them.
- My job is really to make sure
that the people who are closest to our service
are participating in the decision making.
So if our project is going to impact your life,
you should be a part of the process
that leads to that kind of decision.
We are such an essential part of the Baltimore community.
If there's a 2%, 3% improvement that we can make in transit,
it makes such a huge difference for so many folks
to be able to get to doctor's appointments,
get to work on time, go to school.
- We were looking to work with administration
on improving access to transportation
for people with disabilities.
The MTA was fortunate enough to get some funding
through TP4A.
It allowed us to really get in there
and invest some good time and energy
into making transit more inclusive
of people with disabilities.
- MDOT MTA saw a partnership
with two Maryland centers for independent living,
that was accessible resources for independence.
First, we had to do some kind of needs assessments.
- [Teddy] We did walking and scooting and wheelchair tours
where we would go through both light rail
and metro stations and take notes.
We would put up temporary signage
and then be able to ask people,
"Hey, are these colors working?
Does this icon make sense?"
From there, we developed a set of braille flip books
that we worked on
with the National Federation of the Blind.
- We've done an exercise at the John Hopkins stop
where they showed us some changes
they wanted to make at the subway
where they put these barriers up
to keep people from falling onto the track.
- [Teddy] We could actually bring out a prototype
of what the barriers would look like
and then invite our partners to check it out
and to see how it works.
- There were lots of great results.
Most importantly, it was the ability
to show other people around the country
that we can work together.
- They're starting to take into consideration
people's actual lived experiences,
before it's getting written down on paper
or before it's being implemented already.
- It is bottom line worthwhile
to include the input of people with disabilities,
if not in order to plan better services, period,
it's worth it in terms of time and money.
- The best part about this project
is that it didn't end after the grant period.
There's interest on both sides in continuing it.
It's part of our established project development system.
- My hope for the future of the transit system in Maryland
is that it continues to take opportunities to engage people.
We need to not just include people with disabilities
at the end and say, "This is the plan that we have."
We need to include them from the beginning
and say, "What do you think
about these barriers and how can we fix them?"
- They need to include the different groups
so that they have an understanding of what
these different groups need because it's very important
that people with disabilities do get out now,
so that people do see that in spite of the wheelchair
or in spite of whatever issues they might have,
they still get themselves around.
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