“A small group of committed individuals can and often do make a difference.”
April 24, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
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| Bus Ride 9_26_07 013 Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
| Dr. Scott Crawford being told that he can’t ride a JATRAN bus because the lifts don’t work. (Please credit photos to Dr. Scott Crawford) |
Policy may get made here in Washington, but transportation, mobility and safety are truly local issues. The kinds of transportation investments that we’re pushing for aren’t luxuries — they’re essential necessities that enable Americans to get where they need to go, safely and affordably.
It’s high time that we made sure we invested in a transportation system that is safe and accessible for everyone.
So why is access to transportation choices and safe, complete streets so important?
Just a couple of months ago, Dr. Scott Crawford sent us this sobering story about a friend of his in a wheelchair who was struck and killed by the driver of an SUV while in the shoulder of a main highway in Jackson, Mississippi. With no options for a safer way to travel — broken lifts on buses and a lack of sidewalks on main streets — 66 year-old James Smith was riding in his motorized wheelchair in the shoulder of Medgar Evers Boulevard in Jackson.
A collision in the middle of the road resulted in the SUV rolling into the shoulder, where he was crushed underneath the vehicle. (No one was charged.) Dr. Crawford told WAPT that it was only a matter of time due to the conditions of the streets in Jackson.
“I feel very sad for his family. It breaks my heart to see older adults riding in the streets in wheelchairs because they have no alternative.”
Dr. Crawford has been a tireless advocate for complete streets in Jackson, as well as more funding and accessibility compliance for the transit agency there. You may remember his story about the broken bus wheelchair lifts, inadequate transit facilities, and how unsafe and inaccessible most of the thoroughfares are for the handicapped or disabled in Jackson, Mississippi.
He told us in late 2008 that “they recently cut the budget for our transit system by 1.5 million dollars, and they are being sued by a consortium of people with disabilities for violations of civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (me being one of the plaintiffs).”
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| image004 Originally uploaded by Transportation for America |
| These are the 5 new paratransit buses that JATRAN ordered, in part due to Dr. Crawford’s efforts. (Please credit photos to Dr. Scott Crawford. |
But after several discouraging updates from Dr. Crawford, he sent us this development last week:
I figure you’re ready for some *GOOD* news from Jackson! The class action lawsuit I filed in Federal Court has started to result in some changes for the better: the city just bought 5 new paratransit buses for the JATRAN system, and they should be on the road this week. I’ve enclosed pictures if you are interested in posting them.
The suit is also pressuring the city to buy three new lift vans as “back-up” transportation should people like me be stranded by non-working lifts (but they have yet to arrive). The city also tells me (not yet in writing) that they will buy 13 new fixed route buses by November. It’s a start!
As he told us, “a small group of committed individuals can and often do make a difference.” So things are looking up in Jackson, right? They’ve got 5 new paratransit buses ready to hit the road and serve the estimated 16,000 citizens of Jackson who are physically disabled. Well, almost.
The new buses, while great, are yet to be put on the road due to insurance delays and inefficient paperwork.
Jackson is not alone, and it’s certainly not all their fault.
This is the current state of transit agencies in many of our smaller communities like Jackson. They are chronically underfunded and neglected by city or county governments. And more often than not, woefully ignored by State Departments of Transportation mostly concerned with using their federal transportation dollars to pour new asphalt and open new highways.
Public transportation and safe, complete streets are not just something for big, urban cities. And for people like James Smith and Dr. Scott Crawford in communities big and small, it’s a basic question of equity.
Do you have a story like Dr. Crawford’s you’d like to share? Send it to transitcuts@t4america.org
Meridian, Mississippi Mayor urges a renewed effort to continue “uniting” the United States of America
March 3, 2009By Stephen Lee Davis
 Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi gives the keynote address at the platform launch event last week. Creative Commons photo by Steve Davis/Transportation for America |
As we mentioned last week, Mayor John Robert Smith of Meridian, Mississippi came to Washington, DC last week to help Transportation For America officially launch our full platform with a special event in the Cannon House Office Building.
Mayor Smith provided a stirring keynote address, evoking Eisenhower’s vision of a connected America — a vision realized over the last 50 years through our interstate system that was once the envy of the world.
But times have changed, and while investing in maintenance of what we’ve already built, we now need to kick start an ambitious effort to build the second half of our transportation system: The robust intercity rail, the streets safe for walking and biking, the public transportation that provides congestion relief and transportation choices for Americans far and wide, and the rest of an interconnected 21st Century network that can keep us moving into a prosperous American future.
We were honored and delighted to have him speak at our launch event.
Continue below to read his full speech from last Thursday. Our thanks to Mayor Smith and his office for supplying us with the full text.
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Why Jackson, MS needs better transit and complete streets
December 17, 2008By Stephen Lee Davis
As you’ve (hopefully) seen on the front page, we’ve been asking for your photos of anything transportation-related in your community, and you’ve responded with photos of new light rail vehicles in Phoenix, bike boxes in Portland, Safe Routes to School in Ohio, and many others that are being spotlighted on the front page and in the sidebar just to your right.
But we especially wanted to share this story and photos we received yesterday from Dr. Scott Crawford in Jackson, MS. Hit the jump to continue.
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- Atlanta-area transit system 14 days from shutting down, 2 million rides disappearing
March 17, 2010 - U.S. Transportation Department makes good on promise to ensure our streets are made safer
March 16, 2010 - Obama’s livability programs help rural America too
March 16, 2010 - Transit grants out the federal door, but what about the cuts?
March 8, 2010 - Transit riders in Atlanta face massive cuts, “wholesale restructuring” of service
March 5, 2010
- Atlanta-area transit system 14 days from shutting down, 2 million rides disappearing
The United States of Transit Cutbacks
Driving is down and transit ridership is at record highs. Yet transit agencies across the country are considering layoffs, service cuts and fare hikes. Find out more and learn what you can do to help at t4america.org/transitcuts
Transportation: In your eyes
Send us your transportation-related photos.
