Talking Transportation: Commuting while Wheelchair Bound
Commuting in a Wheelchair
You think you have a bad commute? Try doing Maclean Sarr’s hour and a half trip each way… in a wheelchair.
Unable to walk since contracting cerebral palsy as an infant, the 22-year-old Sarr is now a student at Gateway Community College in New Haven but lives in Westbrook. That means a 28-mile trip each way, in his motorized wheelchair, in a bus, a train and another bus.
Sarr lives within “walking distance” of the Westbrook station serving Shore Line East trains, but there are no sidewalks and too much traffic, so the Nine Towns Transit bus is his best option. Arriving at the “beautiful new (train) station” he drives his chair up a ramp and positions himself for the rear car of the train where his chair can be accommodated.
But last Monday when the train arrived, nobody could find the metal bridge plate to cover the six-inch gap between the platform and the railcar. So the train left without him. That’s when he went to Twitter.
I saw his cry for help and forwarded it to the right folks at CDOT who immediately contacted Amtrak (which operates Shore Line East trains) and addressed the issue. Thank you, CDOT!
But this incident got me thinking of what it must be like to commute without being able to walk. Chatting with Maclean, I found him to be smart, articulate and in no way bitter about his lot in life.
“It’s like an adventure every day,” he told me. “I don’t get out much, being something of a homebody,” so studying at Gateway is obviously the high point of his day.
Maclean travels alone without the assistance of an aide, juggling books and a laptop on his 500 pound motorized wheelchair. He doesn’t describe himself as handicapped and certainly not disabled, just “wheelchair bound”.
Bad weather is a challenge especially on icy surfaces. “I feel safe,” he says. “It just means you have to take extra time.” Heavy rain is more of a hassle as he can’t carry an umbrella but has to keep his chair’s joystick controls dry.
The reason Maclean and almost 3 million other wheelchair users in this country can get around is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which became law in 1990 and turned transportation into a civil right. Any transit agency accepting Federal money to buy trains or buses must make them accessible.
“It’s hard enough to find a job let alone get there,” says Doug Holcomb of Greater Bridgeport Transit. “So many of these people have nobody to help them. Our paratransit service even takes people to the hospital.”
Organizations like The Kennedy Center in Trumbull offer free “travel training” courses for clients with all kinds of mobility challenges, from the physical (like being blind or unable to walk) to the emotional (phobias or inability to read a timetable). The mobility their clients have achieved has changed their lives.
How can we help a fellow commuter we might come across, someone who is blind, in a wheelchair or otherwise physically challenged?
“Ask first,” says Maclean. “Other commuters are very nice,” he says. “But they think they’re helping me when they may actually be getting in the way”.
Even if those in need decline your help, chat them up. You’ll enjoy getting to know your fellow commuters.
About Jim Cameron:
Jim Cameron has been a commuter advocate for over 30 years, with a special focus on the Metro North railroad. He spent nearly two decades on the Connecticut Metro North Commuter Council, and most recently founded The Commuter Action Group. Jim Cameron’s Talking Transportation was a popular column on the former WestportNow.com prior to its cessation, and joins The Westport Local Press and several other online community organizations. A resident of Darien - he serves on its Representative Town Meeting and is Program Director of the town government TV station, DarienTV79. He can be reached at CommuterActionGroup@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter: @CTRailCommuters
Monday Night Scene
Monday night’s sunset over Owenoke Park and Ned Dimes Marina. WestportLocal.com photo
Westport COVID-19 Cases Up 25 over Weekend; State Positivity Rate and Hospitalizations Continue Down
The State Department of Public Health reported 25 new COVID-19 cases for Westport over the weekend. The State’s daily test positivity rate decreased to 7.33% while hospitalizations were down as 141 more patients were released from hospitals, totaling 1,051 patients. 54.00% of those hospitalized are not fully vaccinated.
Westport total positive or probable cases: 3,628 cases.
Westport total COVID-19 Deaths: 34 deaths [+1]
State Daily Test Positivity: 7.33% [down from 9.73%]
State Hospitalizations: 1,192 patients [-78]
Firefighters Respond to Chimney Fire on Westway Road
Westport Fire Department photoWestport Fire Department:At approximately 4:32 PM, Westport units were dispatched to a report of a chimney fire at 32 Westway Road. The occupant reported that they observed flames on the exterior chimney of a wood burning stove. First arriving units reported a working fire on the rear outside wall of the house. After confirming that all occupants were out of the house, a hose line was stretched into the house. On scene, firefighters opened up walls on two floors of the house and found active fire burning on the first floor and extending up the walls into the second floor. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire and checked for further fire spread.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Westport Fire Marshal’s Office. Mutual Aid was provided by Fairfield Fire Department for a rapid intervention team and Norwalk Fire Department for station coverage.