12 AWP Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 October 25–31, 2019
A subway for everyone
MTA pilots accessibility features at Downtown station
Photo by Ben Verde
THREE GUYS FROM BROOKLYN HELPING THE COMMUNITY
BY CAMILLE SPERRAZZA
By Ben Verde
Brooklyn Paper
Bigwigs at the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
unveiled their latest
strategies to enhance subway
accessibility at a Downtown
Brooklyn subway station on
Tuesday.
The state-run agency
tricked out the Jay Street–
MetroTech station in America’s
Downtown with features
designed to aid blind straphangers
find their train, including
maps with braille
guidelines and textured strips
that lead disabled commuters
from elevators to platforms,
along with apps providing
audio directions for
the deaf.
The Transit Authority will
study whether the low-cost
amenities provide actual benefits
to the blind, before deciding
whether to expand
the program to additional
stations, according to one
transit guru.
“The beauty of this pilot
is the ability to collect real–
world feedback from riders
on whether changes work or
not — and to adjust accordingly,”
Said Colin Wright, a
Senior Advocacy Associate
at Transit Center, a transit
boosting non–profit.
The new features are proving
helpful to more than just
the blind, according to one
commuter, who said that,
while he sees just fine, he
found it easier to find his train
nonetheless.
“Its definitely made it
a lot easier,” said George
West, who uses a walker to
get around.
Aboubaca Kaba, who uses
a motorized wheelchair to get
around, agreed.
“It makes it easier,” he
said, while riding the elevator
at Jay Street on Thursday.
“I don’t have to ask anyone
where the elevator is.”
But accessibility advocates
weren’t impressed by
the new features, saying disabled
commuters need elevators
over anything else.
“I want to see more money
put towards maintenance in
elevators, and I want to see
more elevators,” said Jessica
De La Rosa, an advocate for
the Brooklyn Center for Independence
of the Disabled,
who relies on a wheelchair
for mobility.
Advocates Jessica De La Rosa and Valerie Joseph
said they welcome the additions 110 percent, but
they want more money for elevator maintenance.
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