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San Antonio Light, 4/25/85
[Headline] Disabled protesters claim win
After three days of public protests, members of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit said they believe they have accomplished their goal of drawing the public’s attention to the transportation problems they encounter.
The organization called off planned demonstrations yesterday after receiving a pledge from Mayor Henry Cisneros that he would seek improvements in local transit services.
More than 50 members of ADAPT, who were staying at The Convent of the Holy Spirit, were expected to leave San Antonio and return to their homes in other states.
“We have raised the issue substantially," said ADAPT spokesman Wade Blank.
“Our issue is a mobility problem for more than 10,000 people in San Antonio," he added. “They are a ‘hidden minority."
Sunday, ADAPT members blocked the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel where the American Public Transit Association was holding a regional meeting.
Monday, ADAPT members moved into the VIA Metropolitan Transit offices on Myrtle Street and remained for several hours until they met with association officials.
And Tuesday, the organization's members blocked VIA buses at several downtown intersections. Two ADAPT members were given citations for obstructing traffic, but no arrests were made.
No disabled San Antonians joined the protests during which ADAPT members demanded that VIA buses be equipped with wheelchair lifts. VIA operates a special van transportation service for the disabled.
Blank, who charged there is a lack of leadership and organization within the San Antonio disabled community, said it would be up to the people here to take up the issue now.
The ADAPT spokesman said San Antonio police officers who dealt with the three days of demonstrations were the “most friendly, and, level-headed police in any city” in which the group has demonstrated.
- Created on
- Thursday 11 July 2013
- Posted on
- Thursday 10 December 2015
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- ADAPT - American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, APTA - American Public Transit Association, Convent of the Holy Spirit, Mayor Henry Cisneros, police, VIA, VIAtrans, Wade Blank
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