Colorado is very far behind when it comes to JEDI/IDEA work and discrimination takes all forms. One such area is in access for people with mobility issues that are supposed to be protected by ADA. The elevator at Nine Mile Station has now been broken for over a month and this is the only way up or down from the lightrail platform besides three levels of stairs. The station was only built to meet ADA requirements if the elevators were kept running. This post will chronicle the situation around this. I have been tracking this since it first impacted my trips into work and will add to this as I get more info and more happens. I am not the only person with mobility issues that this as impacted as you will see in the letter I got from the ward rep of the area where Nine Mile is.
1/16/23:
This was the first day that I noticed there was a problem with both elevators being down.
1/24/23:
Elevators are still broke. No signs up or anything. What are people supposed to do?2/16/23: Fox31 Releases their news story with my interview. I learned from the reporter that RTD contracts out the work on their elevators, many others were also being impacted by this, and that RTD had a history of blocking access for people.
2/28/23:
Today there were huge objects in the walk ways. I don't know how the light rail station expects people with vision issues to be able to navigate messes like these. RTD needs to be monitoring their stations more so they can quickly clean up messes like this and maybe even hold the people accountable that are trashing the stations.More trash for people to navigate around.
This fire mess was blocking one whole side of the stairs on one of the landings. I saw a women also taking pictures and I asked if she would be posting them on Google. She said no, that she was taking pictures because she was an RTD employee. I also asked about the elevators. She said that they were working as fast as they could to get them fixed and then she added that the messes were not RTD's responsibility to clean up. Last time I checked there were laws about people and companies having to maintain their properties and keeping things safe while the public is on those properties. This also doesn't take into account Federal ADA requirements for all people to have access to public transportation. RTD likes pretending that laws and regulations do not apply to them. It's also sad that at least this employee seems to belive the toxic media pill that RTD is butting out there. This employee should feel ashamed for what RTD is doing and her support of them by her continued employment with them. RTD employees need to start speaking up about what is going on.
3/1/23:
Tripping hazards for people with mobility issues or vision issues. Also possible evidence of a crime ring disposing of evidence.3/3/23:
This shows more trash and tripping hazards that can impact people with mobility issues or vision issues. A lot of this also looked like a crime ring was tossing away the evidence of stolen goods here since there were price tags mixed in with the packages. This also shows that Nine Mile needs to watch what is going on with their stations more.3/8/23:
Today since I could adjust being late for work I decided to try and do their shuttle option. So I stood in the area that the RTD worker had said for me to stand. I got there at my normal time of 6:45am. I normally catch the 6:59am H line. The shuttle/buss pulled up at 7am. This means that even if they had been able to basically transport me over to Dayton station I more than likely wouldn't have been able to catch my train because of how quick the train moves between stations. The shuttle ride took 14 minutes to get to Dayton station. From there I had to walk to the sky bridge to the lightrail platform. This is another station that is flawed in how it was built because it also relies on stairs or the elevator to get to the platform. Then I had to wait for another H train to pick me up. By the time I got to work I was nearly 45 minutes later then my normal time on the train directly from Nine Mile. This adds a huge chunk of time to the commute of people with mobility issues. I also noticed that the Dayton station had better signage as to the elevator issue then Nine Mile station did even though the issue is at Nine Mile. The above sign was right up front to the walkway for to get to the platform bridge.This is the tiny sign that they have at Nine Mile to tell people where to catch the shuttle and the directions on it are not really clear about if it also applies to when the elevators are down. Nine Mile needs large signs with detailed information. Also people need a schedule to know when they can rely on the shuttle to pick them up.
3/17/23:
Finally looks like something has started happening. This morning when I went in I saw a guy with a whole bunch of wood. Then when I got back to the station after work this was up. I also caught in this picture a gentleman that also has mobility issues trying to navigate the stairs. I have seen him at this stop many times in the past and know that he could be considered a regular. RTD thinks that the little band-aids they have tried to slap on this issue has taken care of the problems, but people like him and I still have to take the stairs because RTD's quick fixes are undetectable and do not work for us._______________________________________________________________________________
The below articles show that RTD's issues with elevators have been going on for a long time and there has been no real try by the government to enforce the ADA laws in relation to RTD impacting people's access to public transportation.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/kdvr.com/news/local/broken-elevators-at-rtd-stop-cause-problems-for-passengers-with-mobility-issues/amp/
9/22/22: "Englewood train platform elevator broken for 3 years"- This shows how RTD is just passing the blame over to the city even though people need that elevator to access their platform. Both the city and RTD needs to be held accountable for ADA violations. Even though there are other elevators at this station to use it makes people add distance to how far they have to walk to get to the elevators. This additional walking can have huge impacts on people with mobility issues and forces them to deal with things differently then other passengers. https://kdvr.com/news/local/englewood-train-platform-elevator-broken-for-3-years/
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