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[Headline] Wheelchair lifts required on all new transit buses Denver Post Staff and Wire Reports PHILADELPHIA -- Advocates for the disabled Tuesday hailed a federal court ruling requiring wheelchair lifts on new public buses, but a spokesman for transit agencies said the ruling doesn't address vexing problems. "We've been grappling with this for a long time" said Albert Engelken, deputy executive director of the Washington-based American Public Transit Association. He said wheelchair lifts receive limited use where they exist and are an added expense to transit agencies at a time when federal subsidies have been dwindling. On Monday, a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 that Congress has made its wishes on accessibility clear, and that lift-equipped buses are part of that mandate. The court ordered the Transportation Department to rewrite a regulation allowing communities to offer alternative "paratransit” service, such as van rides, to the disabled. It said the 24-hour reservations that riders need to make for such services hinder spontaneous use of mass transit. The ruling apparently will have no impact on the Regional Transportation District in Denver, which already has a handicapped accessibility policy that mirrors requirements outlined by the appellate court, an RTD official said. RTD spokeswoman Diana Yee said 80 percent of the system’s 750-bus fleet is wheelchair lift-equipped. Additional service is supplied by a 16-vehicle paratransit program called Handi-Ride that uses vans and small buses to respond to individual transportation requests. RTD also is requiring private operators; soon to takeover 20 percent of the system’s routes, to use buses equipped with wheelchair lifts. James Fornari, a New York City attorney for a group of veterans with spinal-cord injuries, said the court ruling will force transit systems to look for the most efficient means of serving disabled people. “We are quite pleased with this decision, and I see it as a springboard for making other transit systems, which have buses accessible to the mobility impaired, so they can be mainstreamed into American life and society," Fornari said. Engelken said his association’s board, which comprises the heads of transit agencies. across the nation, believes agencies should be able to decide on a local basis how best to serve disabled people.
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Courier Journal, Louisville, KY PHOTO (staff photo by Paul Schumann): A dark paneled office with official looking pictures and places on the walls, is full of people in wheelchairs, and a couple of people standing at the back of the group. Those in wheelchairs (ranging from manual chairs to motorized ones appears to be listening. To the right of the picture a man in a white shirt and tie is standing with his arms crossed looking down at some of the people in wheelchairs. In the center of the front of the picture a man with a short pony tail (Arthur Campbell) talks to the man standing. To his left a woman in a chair (Ann ____) looks on. Caption reads: Assistant U. S. Attorney Terry Cushing talked to members of disability-rights groups yesterday as they held a sit-in in the lobby of the U. S. attorney’s office. [Headline] Advocates of disability rights hold sit-in in support of transit ruling By CLARENCE MATTHEWS Staff Writer About a dozen members of disability-rights groups held an impromptu sit-in in the lobby of U.S. Attorney Joe Whittle’s office in Louisville in support of a federal court ruling that public transit must be accessible to disabled passengers. The sit-in was orderly, and the group left about three hours after entering the office. A 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 last month that lift-equipped buses are part of Congress‘ mandate to make public transportation more accessible to the disabled. The court also ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to rewrite regulations that let cities offer the disabled alternative services, such as van rides. It said the 24-hour reservations required for such services hinder use of mass transit. Representatives of local disability-rights groups began demonstrating at ll:30 a.m. outside the Federal Building at Sixth and Chestnut streets. They formed a noon-hour caravan of wheelchairs for the trip to the U.S. attorney's office on the 10th floor of the Bank of Louisville building at Fifth Street and Broadway. Demonstrators asked that the U.S. attorney call John Sununu, the White House chief of staff, to tell President Bush to instruct federal officials not to appeal the decision. When told Whittle was ill, the demonstrators asked to meet with an assistant. Arthur Campbell Jr., a spokesman for the group, told Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Cushing, “This ruling; gives us the freedom that the rest of society takes for granted." Cushing promised to pass their request on to Whittle. "Can’t you do that now?" a demonstrator asked. Cushing said he couldn't because someone was waiting in his office, but promised to do it later. “We’ll wait until Monday if necessary," another group member said. They left about three hours later, after Cashing called Whittle and several members of the group spoke to him. "He (Whittle) asked me to take some additional information from them about the case. and they left," Cushing said. The demonstration was part of a nationwide observance sponsored by American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, a plaintiff in the federal Court case, and other disability rights groups.
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The Boston Herald, Thursday March 23, 1989 [Headline] Transit offices targeted for disabled protests [Subheading] Activists to show support for access decision By TOM SQUITIERI WASHINGTON — Activists for the disabled will picket federal mass transit offices in Boston and at least nine other cities tomorrow in a national show of support for a court action that could mean greater transit system access for the handicapped. The planned protests follow a U.S. Court of Appeals decision striking down federal Department of Transportation regulations permitting local transit systems to provide services to disabled persons only if advance reservations are made. The court also ordered that new transit buses bought with federal money be accessible to the disabled, required some level of transportation be provided to those not able to use buses and struck down a cap that now places a state or transit system in compliance with the law after spending 3 percent of its operating budget on disability needs. "We are very hopeful the (Bush) administration will not appeal the ruling. This is the first decision this administration has to make on disability issues. and the national-disability community will be watching closely," said Timothy Cook. director of the National Disability Action Center, a Washington-based advocacy group. The Justice Department reportedly is reviewing a possible appeal. Throughout the 1988 campaign, Bush advocated bringing the disabled more fully into society, but the White House had no comment on a possible appeal. The court ruling only affects new buses purchased and does not require retrofitting of existing vehicles — although Cook said the "logic of the ruling" should extend to newly purchased commuter rail cars or renovated stations. Bush also is being pressured by congressmen —- including the Massachusetts delegation, which sent him a letter this week — not to appeal the decision. “If allowed to stand, this court ruling would help reduce many of the transportation barriers which face our disabled neighbors. It would accomplish this goal as intended by Congress and without undue expense to state and local governments," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).
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Rocky Mountain News [Headline] Changes at two-story McDonald’s satisfy activists By: Jay Croft, Rocky Mountain News Staff writer Handicapped-rights activists claimed a victory Tuesday in McDonald’s construction of a 750,000, wheelchair accessible hamburger restaurant in Capitol Hill even though company officials said protests weren’t responsible for building the one-of-a kind facility. The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. Saturday. Representatives of Atlantis Community, who last year led protests at the East Colfax Avenue in Pennsylvania Street restaurant, said they are satisfied with the changes. “It’s fantastic,” said Mike Auberger, Atlantis community organizer. “Apparently what we did had some kind of effect.” But officials at McDonald’s, the nation’s largest hamburger franchise, said they tore down the old restaurant because it was “in need of a tremendous amount of repairs,” not because it was inaccessible to handicapped people. Kitchen equipment, air conditioning and drive-through facilities were outdated, said Jim Clark construction engineer. He said the restaurant was 18 years old. Auberger and Clark said the restaurant meets city requirements for handicapped accessibility, which include wheelchair ramps, special parking spaces and access to restrooms. McDonald's also made some tables wheelchair-accessible. Other McDonald's restaurants under construction in the Denver area are scheduled to be accessible also, Auberger said. "They've gone out of their way to prove their point in this city at least." Clark said cost of construction was $750,000. The new two-story McDonald's, with an upstairs atrium and a seating capacity of 200, is “one of a kind” Clark said. “It’s more of a high-rise office design (than other McDonald’s).” It will employ about 100 people, including many of the 70 employees from the old restaurant who want to return, Clark said. Debbie Van Gundy, a six-year employee, will continue as manager. “I love it,” she said. “It’s a great improvement to have a whole new store and equipment.” A “human ribbon” will surround the building, along with 500 $1-bills, said Gary Peck, operations consultant. The money will go to Ronald McDonald House, a home for the families of cancer patients in Children’s Hospital. The opening coincides with the 30th anniversary of McDonald’s in Denver region, which includes Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Wyoming, Peck said. McDonald’s will host an invitation-only part Thursday night. Auberger said Tuesday no one at his office had been invited.. “We’re not exactly friends,” he said. “It’s a comfortable agreement and that’s about all.”