Tuesday, September 20, 2011
"I know I am not supposed to be out after midnight because after midnight us wheelchair people will bite you and give you wheelchair"
Posted by Charles Maldonado on Tue, Sep 20, 2011 at 11:41 AM
This week's cover story about the city's lack of progress in making the historic St. Charles Avenue Streetcar line accessible for riders with disabilities included an interview with Jonah Bascle. Bascle, a local comedian who uses a wheelchair, last year ran for mayor in an attempt to bring attention to the issue. He tells us he's frustrated at the lack of momentum on St. Charles, not to mention the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority's continued (false) insistence on its Web site that, because the line is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, NORTA by law "cannot update the streetcars with the modern equipment needed to make them accessible to disabled riders."
(More from Jonah Bascle after the jump)
Here's a screenshot from NORTA's site, just in case that wording gets changed:
And the full page:
We asked Jonah for a few more thoughts on the issue. Here's what he told us:
A few days ago I did a stand-up comedy show at a venue downtown. After my set (while the show was still going on) I had rush to the bus stop to catch the last bus going uptown towards my house. If I miss the last bus at 11:15, I have no way of getting home. There is no wheelchair accessible public transportation after this time. But, wait there is one line I forgot that is still operating after 11:30pm. You may have heard of it, or maybe you have been on it before. It’s called the historic St. Charles Streetcar line. What am I doing out after midnight you might ask? Good point. I know I am not supposed to be out after midnight because after midnight us wheelchair people will bite you and give you wheelchair. But I’m 25, and I should be able to go anywhere I want, whenever I want to. I would like to enjoy New Orleans like everyone else, but I can’t, and neither can anyone else in a wheelchair who lives here or visits.
Comments (3)
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This whole article is unfair, because it glosses over NORTA's paratransit service. If you can't get on the streetcar because of your disability, a NORTA van or minibus will *pick you up* and provide *door to door* service anywhere in orleans parish- for the same price as riding the streetcar.
I think that's more than reasonable, and likely cheaper than retrofitting 80 year old machinery to be wheelchair accessible.
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dislike@SV: First off, Paratransit stops at midnight, which brings us back to the title of this post (scroll up if you need to read it a few more times to get the point).
And no, actually "this whole article" is not "unfair" (what, are you 12?). Paratransit is a specific, limited, more expensive service especially for individuals who, according to the NORTA website, "may have a temporary or permanent disability that prevents them from using the standard RTA system." People in wheelchairs are not necessarily unable to use the standard RTA system; they're unable to ride on the St. Charles Streetcar line specifically. And, if you would have bothered to read the "unfair" article, you'd know that this problem would be easily remedied by replacing just a few of the St. Charles streetcars with the newer red ones (which are accessible).
By the way, you have to schedule paratransit in advance, there's no set schedule, and your ride could take "up to 90 minutes." Oh, and your friends can't ride with you, because THEY can get on the streetcar. I don't know about you, but I think that sounds like a delightful (not to mention easy!) end to a night out.
Personally, I would like to see the RTA supplement the St. Charles line with a bus during rush hour and weekends. I've been packed like a sardine with too many tourists who don't understand the concept of MOVE TO THE BACK OF THE CAR when it's standing-room only on the St. Charles line.
Switching to a bus on that line after midnight would likely cut down the number of drunk obnoxious tourists riding it late at night as well--a bus is so much less romantic.
