[PRCo] Re: Portland Green Line

[Schneider Fred]

The question isn't whether or not you prefer it, Phil ....

The Americans With Disabilities Act requires suitable accommodation  
for all people including those on wheelchairs and a low floor car can  
be boarded much more rapidly than a high floor car with a wheel chair  
lift or elevator.   We are light years beyond the era when we told  
those that were handicapped or disabled that they should stay home.    
Furthermore those laws are not simply an American accommodation, they  
have become virtually universal in the developed world.

Quite frankly, we done some very stupid things in interpreting the  
law such as not opening the busiest subway station in Washington DC  
on-time in 1976 because the elevators were not finished ... we ran  
the trains through it with closed doors.   If we can't serve the  
handicapped, the lawyers presumed we can't serve anyone.

But those low-floor cars are here to stay.   ISN'T IT.




On Sep 17, 2009, at 8:23 PM, Phillip Clark Campbell wrote:

> Mr.Allman;
>
> I am not enamored of these low-floor cars;  I am more
> traditional and prefer the Bombardiers with standard
> floor.  When I ride the low-floor I look for a seat in the
> standard floor section, each end of the car.  I am
> concerned with side impact collisions;  something
> could put a whole new door in this equipment.  Maybe
> I will like them better when I really 'need' such an
> amenity.
>
> It is a different story if low-floor 3756 comes along
> isn't it.
>
> The Bombardier equipment is superb;  I am very
> favorably impressed.  Tri-Met known for attention to
> detail;  this is but one example isn't it.
>
>
>  Phil
> Without  a   'coast'   but  not  a   'cause.'
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: richard allman <allmanr at verizon.net>
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 3:07:13 PM
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Portland Green Line
>
> every Tri MET train has one low floor car so the boarding is rather  
> swift!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Edward H. Lybarger" <trams2 at comcast.net>
> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
> Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2009 8:20 AM
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Portland Green Line
>
>
>> That's apples vs. oranges.  If you use that to select a  
>> transportation
>> mode,
>> that's one thing, but if you compare transit systems you have to  
>> look at
>> those areas.  And it's not just the ramp...it's the operator's  
>> time away
>> from the platform that's a big factor in the dwell time.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
>> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf  
>> Of Joshua
>> Dunfield
>> Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 7:35 PM
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Portland Green Line
>>
>> 2009/9/16 Edward H. Lybarger <trams2 at comcast.net>:
>>> 22 mph isn't so bad when you figure that a New York express train  
>>> does
>>> maybe
>>> 17 or 18. You have to look at the number of stops and the dwell  
>>> time,
>>> which has increased most places because of the need to  
>>> accommodate the
>>> handicapped patrons.
>>
>> If I'm comparing it to driving, walking, or biking, I really don't  
>> need to
>> look at the stops or the dwell time.  MAX wheelchair ramps are pretty
>> fast,
>> anyway.
>>
>> Fred: yes, I got that far, but I didn't see anything on that page  
>> that's
>> obviously an 80 page brochure.  I don't feel like going through
>> 15 links.
>>
>> -j.
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