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Federal Transit Administration
Office of Civil Rights Complaint Form
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Office of Civil Rights
is responsible for civil rights compliance and monitoring of public
transportation, which includes ensuring that providers properly
implement Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(the ADA), the Department of Transportation (DOT) ADA regulations,
and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
In the FTA complaint investigation process, we analyze the
complainant's allegations for possible ADA deficiencies by the
transit provider. If deficiencies are identified they are presented
to the transit provider and assistance is offered to correct the
inadequacies within a predetermined timeframe. FTA also may refer
the matter to the U.S. Department of Justice for enforcement.
Section I
Name:__Bob Williams
Address: 510 Street, SW N524, Washington, DC 22024
Telephone Numbers:
(Home)___________N/A
(Work)___________ N/A
Electronic Mail Address: [email protected]
Accessible Format Requirements?
Due to my motoric and speech disabilities, all communication
should be via e mail addressed to [email protected]
Section II Are you filing this complaint on your own behalf?
Yes __X __ No ____
Section III
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Have you previously filed an ADA complaint with FTA? No.
Have you filed this complaint with any of the following
agencies?
Transit Provider Yes, I have filed two previous complaints
against the WMATA Metro subway system. The first was in the mid 80s
when a train operator closed the doors and pulled out of the
Brookland station even though I had been entering it and the front
wheel of my scooter became lodged between the platform and the
train. Alert riders waiting for a train in the opposite direction
saved my life by pulling me back on to the platform. I received
damages for this of under $5000 for needed repairs to the scooter
and an ER visit on the night this occurred.
I filed a second complaint in the early 90s for chronic elevator
outrages, the fact that the system failed to notify riders of where
and when elevators were down and station attendants routinely
refused to process me my card and called me nasty because I have
cerebral palsy, my ability to swallow is impaired and I drool.
Department of Transportation. I believe I copied Robert Ashby,
then a DOT civil rights official on both of these complaints. To my
knowledge, however, the Department did not take any action on
either.
Department of Justice No. _____ Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission No. Other -- No.
Have you filed a lawsuit regarding this complaint? Yes_____
No__X__
[Note: This above information is helpful for administrative
tracking purposes.]
Section IV Name of public transit provider complaint is
against:
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Contact person: Richard Sarles, General Manager and CEO --
202-962-1234 Administrative office
Helen Lew, Inspector General - 888-234-2374
Note: The e mail addresses and direct lines in the WMATA General
Manager and Inspector General or those of any other named officials
are available on its website. These are the only ones I could
find.
On separate sheets, please describe your complaint. You should
include specific details such as names, dates, times, route
numbers, witnesses,
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and any other information that would assist us in our
investigation of your allegations. Please also provide any other
documentation that is relevant to this complaint.
See below.
Section V May we release a copy of your complaint to the transit
provider?
Yes ___X_ No ____
May we release your identity to the transit provider?
Yes _X___ No ____
Date: July 26, 2014
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Complaint:
I am making this complaint against Richard Sarles, the General
Manager and CEO of WMATA, and Helen Lew, its Inspector General, and
their subordinates named in the attached e mails, for failing to
properly carry out their respective responsibilities and authority
to assure that:
1. Metro rail platforms and all other areas in stations are
accessible and can be used
without unnecessary risk of injury/death by riders with and
without disabilities at each of its 86 subway stations across the
systems 106.3 miles of tracks in the District of Columbia, Maryland
and Virginia.
2. All riders of the subway and bus system have an easy to use
and transparent way to report safety and accessibility concerns via
various means mail, phone, e mail, Twitter, social media and
receive timely information on the receipt of and all follow up
actions taken as a result of such complaints (i.e., that the system
has an effective and transparent complaint, feedback and
accountability process in place).
3. OIG investigates all claims of fraud, waste, abuse or
misconduct concerning Metro activities or operations, particularly
those affecting the lives and safety of systems riders and
personnel, in a prompt, responsible and transparent manner
consistent with its charge and role.
4. All such complaints especially those claiming serious and
possibly system wide threats to life and safety are investigated
and resolved in a prompt, responsible, comprehensive, transparent
and proactive manner rather than one that is lackadaisical,
reactive and done at the convenience of Metro personnel.
I am naming Richard Sarles, the General Manager and CEO of
WMATA, and Helen Lew, its Inspector General because the public
entity both have been entrusted to lead is insular, defensive and
inert when it comes to investigating accessibility and safety
complaints and complying with the basic mandate of the ADA and
Section 5O4 of the Rehabilitation Act that the transit system must
be accessible to and, therefore, safely useable by individuals with
disabilities. I believe the account I provide and assert is based
on the facts I know and present below and shows WMATA lacks the
accountability, transparency, capacity, commitment and integrity of
action to comply with these laws. The basic facts supporting this
complaint are these:
FACT 1 ---- THERE IS CREDIBLE EVIDENCE THAT REPAIRS TO PLATFORM
ESCALATORS ARE CREATING SAFETY AND WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY HAZARDS
IN SEVERAL BUT AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF THE 86 WMATA STATIONS.
On April 9, I sent the following e mail to a WMATA OIG mailbox
because I could identify no other way make a complaint via e mail,
my primary mean of effective communication with nearly all people,
and copied several local disability civil rights organizations:
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From: Bob Williams To: [email protected], Sandy
Bernstein , "[email protected]" , "Orr, Derek K. (EOM)" Date: Wed,
Apr 9,
2014 at 6:35 AM
Subject: Threat to life, health and safety
Metro OIG: I can find no other way to report this promptly;
thus, I am putting you on notice. Repairs/scaffolds around the
escalators on the train platform at the Bethesda station have
narrowed to less than what is required to be a readily accessible
and safe path of travel to the elevator to a treacherous level.
Remedy it before someone dies or is grievously injured. WMATA
frequently does this, investigate it ... I will file a complaint
with the Department of Transportation.
What I confronted on the Bethesda platform and other platforms
before and since is that when WMATA repairs or installs a new
escalator it encases the shaft in a plywood box. I assume this is
done to protect the safety of both workers and riders and I
recognize its necessity if that is its purpose. The problem is that
the girth of such boxes are growing and turning into Mc Boxes.
Riders naturally stand in front of these structures which both
narrows the supposedly accessible path of travel for the wheelchair
user and makes for a perilous dance because either the person in
the chair or another rider needs to step closer to the platform
edge to allow the other to pass and during peak hours when the
platforms are crowded and things get particularly dicey.
One might wonder why a wheelchair user would take such a route.
Well, that would be because in many stations especially ones with
single track platforms the elevators to the mezzanine level are
often located at one end of the platform or the other.
Consequently, wheelchair users must use this path from the elevator
to the train and vice versa, especially if the train stops some
distance from where the elevator is located. There is simply no
avoiding it, unless one avoids using certain stations altogether,
as I and others I know do because they are neither accessible nor,
safe to use.
Furthermore, in stations like LEnfant Plaza, which serves as a
major transfer point for the Blue, Orange, Green and Yellow lines,
WMATA has perfected the art of barrier creation. There it encased
an escalator in a structure that not only created the access and
safety hazards I just described but was so wide that it completely
obliterated the accessible and safe path of travel
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on the other side of the escalator. I am describing this
situation in the past tense because I do not know if it still
exists or not, since I no longer use the LEnfant Station, even
though it is close to where I live and work in Southwest DC and
clearly the one that is the most versatile to use, because it is
unsafe and, therefore, inaccessible and readily unusable.
A major factor why I settled in DC after college 30 years ago is
I knew that the Metros accessibility would prove instrumental to my
efforts to success in life and my career, and it has, in fact, been
very instrumental to my life and career over the decades.
Increasingly, however, I am avoiding using it for the reasons just
given and I am filing this complaint because like many others I am
simply fed up. Furthermore, the issues I raise in this complaint to
the FTA go to the core of why we have civil rights laws and why it
is imperative they are enforced. Title II of the ADA and its
precursor Section 5O4 of the Rehabilitation Act seek to enforce the
simple precept that people with disabilities like all others in our
nation must have equal access to public services and publicly
financed programs and services like all others in our country. Not
partial access, not unsafe access but equal access. I believe if
the Federal Transportation Administration does a thorough review of
my complaint and seeks wider public input by disability civil
rights representatives in the DC Metropolitan Area it will find
WMATA woefully and consistently fails to meet the mark. The
following is a chronology of my e mail exchanges with WMATA. I
copied several local disability civil rights organizations on my e
mails given the importance and public nature of the hazards I
reported and sought to have it remedy. WMATA did not follow
suit.
On July 14, three days after my first e mail to the OIG mailbox,
I received the following e mail response:
from: Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority - Office of
Inspector General
to: [email protected] date: Mon, Apr 14, 2014 at 2:20 PM
subject: Threat to life, health and safety
Good Afternoon Mr. Williams, The Washington Metropolitan Area
Transit Authority, Office of Inspector General, has received your
complaint. It has been referred to the appropriate management
official for review and action. Thank you for bringing this matter
to our attention.
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Gerry D'Angelo Special Agent
On June 9, nearly sixty days later after not hearing anything
back from Special Agent DAngelo or anyone else at WMATA as well as
learning from other riders that they or other riders were
encountering various stations in the system , I again contacted
Special Agent DAngelo at : [email protected] since he
had not bothered to provide me with any other contact information
for himself or the appropriate management official (to which he
stated he had referred my complaint) for review and action. Though
this is conjecture on my part, I believe as he indicates below that
he took no action at all and assumed instead that I would be
mollified by his representation that my complaint would be
investigated and action taken in a timely, responsible and
transparent manner. I further believe no such review ever was
initiated. My June 9 e mail to the Special Agent, which I copied to
several advocacy organizations follows:
From: Bob Williams Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2014 at 9:05 AM Subject:
Re: Threat to life, health and safety To: Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority - Office of Inspector General ,
"bob.williams" , "[email protected]" , Carol Tyson , Sandy
Bernstein , "Orr, Derek K. (EOM)" , Tina Campanella Special Agent
D'Angelo: In April, you referred my complaint to some unnamed
"appropriate management official for review and action." and then
said, "Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention." In the
approximate two months since I have encountered similar conditions
on Metro and heard not a word from you or the "appropriate
management official" you referenced. I believe this demonstrates a
clear lack of transparency, urgency and diligence in following up
on a matter that I believed then and now to pose a serious threat
to the lives of Metro riders with and without disabilities. I write
for two reasons. First, to ask that you supply me with the name and
contact information of this official -- something which you should
have done in April. Second, I also write to say that given this
wanton disregard, I will be filing a complaint with the U.S. DOT as
I am convinced someone is going to get injured or die because of
the platform issue. Bob Williams
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On June 10, Special Agent DAngelo sent the following response,
copying Antonio Stephens, WMATAs ADA Ombudsman:
From: D'Angelo, Gerald W. [mailto:[email protected]] Sent:
Tuesday, June 10, 2014 11:18 AM To: Williams, Bob Cc: Stephens,
Antonio Subject: Escalator Safety Complaint Good Morning Mr.
Williams, I understand the impracticability of communicating via
phone. I sent this email via my WMATA business email address, as I
think it will be more efficient. I spoke to our General
Superintendent in our Office of Elevators and Escalators. He said
that ADA requires a minimum of five feet of clearance for travel.
He has assured me the clearance at the Bethesda station is within
ADA requirements, as are all other safety matters. If you believe
this not to be the case, or there are other safety issues present,
please let me know and I will ensure we get a correct response. My
apologies for the delay in your initial response, it was entirely
my fault. Gerry D'Angelo Special Agent Office of Inspector General
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Is this the operating procedure standard of WMATA: As long as
the General Superintendent asserts that accessibility and safety
matters are fine, it is of no real concern and there is no need to
investigate further? Is this how WMATA OIG conducts its
investigations regarding potentially serious safety hazards? The
General Superintendent makes the assertion that clearance at the
Bethesda station is within ADA requirements but what precisely is
this based on? Did the Special Agent or General Superintendent
attempt to independently validate this information? Or was it
assumed that as a member of the public or someone with a disability
no less that I should blithely accept such an explanation? Does
such conduct comport to what the General Manager and Inspector
General find acceptable?
Is it standard OIG protocol to shift as Special Agent DAngelo
does above the burden of proof on the public: If you believe this
not to be the case, or there are other safety issues present,
please let me know and I will ensure we get a correct response? On
June 10, I sent the following e mail to Heidi Case, a member of
WMATAs Accessibility Advisory Committee, Special Agent DAngelo and
Mr. Stephens to restate and make my position on this matter as
clear as possible:
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to: "[email protected]"
cc: "D'Angelo, Gerald W." , "Stephens, Antonio"
date: Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 9:58 AM
subject: Re: Escalator Safety Complaint
My position is simply this: The type of situation I have made
WMATA, U.S. DoT and others aware of is principally about the safety
of all subway riders with and without disabilities, and it has
major implications for physical and program access to the system
under ADA and Section 5O4 of the Rehabilitation Act. And, if it is
not safe, it is not accessible or useable.
The Access Board guidelines are of necessity static and
represent the minimum... they cannot account for platform and rush
hour conditions, forklifts, scaffolding, etc. I recognize the need
for WMATA to do maintenance on elevators, escalators, etc.,
throughout the system. I do not want to make that harder,
especially for the workers.
However, for safety and accessibility sake, I am now formally,
requesting that Metro:
---- Institute immediate and ongoing review of all construction
sites and protocols system wide to identify adverse impacts and
risks for safety and access
---- Make needed changes to such processes and requirements
---- institute enhanced messaging and signage strategies that
let riders know when and where platform conditions might require
greater attention to one own as well as that of others
---- STRONGLY consider whether there are ways to reduce such
risks by having trains cover the affected parts of the track when
they are in the station.
I will share these recommendations with a broader group of
stakeholders as well. Bob Williams
Here in more detail is what I had in mind when I made the
recommendations in the e mail above:
WMATA SHOULD INSTITUTE IMMEDIATE AND ONGOING REVIEW OF ALL
CONSTRUCTION SITES AND PROTOCOLS SYSTEMWIDE TO IDENTIFY ADVERSE
IMPACTS AND RISKS FOR SAFETY
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AND ACCESS AND IT SHOULD MAKE NEEDED CHANGES TO SUCH PROCESSES
AND REQUIREMENTS.
Recently, I used the Green Line platform elevator at Fort Totten
and noted there is minimal railing between the track and elevator
such that someone in a wheelchair or a child in a stroller could
fall right through the rail and on to the tracks. This situation is
a perfect example of why WMATA must be proactive. It has no doubt
existed since Green Line service began at Fort Totten, a transfer
point for the Green and Red Lines. Some might argue that the fact
that nothing untoward has apparently occurred in this regard is
proof that I am over reacting or the man who cries wolf. Frankly, I
plead that the FTA and the WMATA General Manager not to take my
word for it. Go see for yourself. I further believe that FTA should
compel WMATA to: 1. Remedy this hazard at Fort Totten and possibly
other stations, and 2. outline the specific actions/timeline it
will take/follow to eliminate or ameliorate such barriers going
forward.
Because of safety on the platforms and poor signage directions
to elevators, I now use the Metro only once or twice a month to
travel to and through about 10 different stations within the past 6
months. If I am identifying such problems in my limited travels, I
have to assume similar problems exist in other stations. I have no
sense of the magnitude of these problems system wide. Nor, should
FTA assume without further investigation that WMATA has much of a
better sense of it either.
For this reason, I believe WMATA should implement a proactive
and expanding review of stations, construction projects and
relevant protocols to detect, remedy or mitigate such issues.
Specifically, in regard to construction sites and protocols, WMATA
should, of course, use the Access Board guidelines to inform its
construction processes. However, WMATA officials also should have
the commonsense and professional acumen to recognize that
especially during rush hours and holidays that merely being within
the guidelines might not be enough to ensure accessibility or
safety especially around escalator work sites and the like.
Real estate on single track platforms in particular is extremely
limited/valuable and must clearly accommodate the safe passage of
riders and personnel as well as maintenance demands. This requires
not a one shot, perfunctory review but a dynamic process. In
particular, WMATA should take a range of steps to constantly
assess, adjust for and ameliorate such concerns. For example, both
before starting and periodically throughout a construction project,
it should assess its impact on rider traffic flow, wheelchair users
access and the safety of the path of travel during peak and
non-peak hours. It also should take steps to eliminate, lessen or
at the very least effectively communicate where and when such
problems exist to riders. To the extent that overall rider safety
considerations permit, WMATA should serious consider taking the
following types of preventive actions:
Install temporary buffers or railing between the platform and
the edge around construction sites.
Post No standing signs along escalators on single track
platforms to relieve congestion and unsafe conditions in such
area.
Paint two parallel lines approximate the width of a wheelchair
alongside such escalators to indicate to all riders what a safe
path of travel looks like research shows such visual cues promote
road safety, why not use it here as well.
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Post on each side of a single track platform a prominent sign
indicating which direction a wheelchair user should head in to
locate the elevator to also cut down on congestion. These direction
indicators used to be on the outer wall of the metro tunnel on the
sign saying what the name of the station is.
Add directional arrow to all of the pylons on which stations are
listed. Such arrows used to prominently appear on each pylon. As
new station names were added, however, the arrows for some reason
were not put back on. Consequently, wheelchair users, especially
tourists, literally have no cue of where to find the elevator. We
waste time; we get caught up in the crowd, get lost and are made to
look the fool all because WMATA has not bothered to post effective
signage.
There might be valid reasons why some of these actions cannot or
should not be taken. But, WMATA has a principal duty, legally and
morally, to take all appropriate steps to enhance the safety of all
its riders. Safety should not be determined in the abstract or by a
two minute phone call or a short e mail exchange, which again
though it is conjecture, seems to have been the case with my
complaint this time.
Accordingly, WMATA also needs to review the practice it uses of
encasing escalators undergoing repairs in plywood. As noted
previously, this might be necessary to do for work site safety.
What is inexplicable and seemingly excessive, however, is when
WMATA construct such structures to be between an estimated 10 to 12
feet in width and therefore seal off accessible and safe route on
the platform for weeks on end. The FTA should compel WMATA to: 1.
justify its use of these walls of exclusion-- to borrow an apt
phrase from the first President Bush at LEnfant Plaza and possibly
other stations, 2. Outline the specific actions/timeline it will
take/follow to eliminate or ameliorate such barriers going forward;
and 3 Set and follow clear and transparent guidelines and
reasonable timelines for investigating, resolving and reporting its
actions to the public on accessibility and safety complaints it
receives. If WMATA fails to institute these steps promptly, I and
others will have no reason but to assume that the public transit
system wishes to remain unaccountable for its actions and inactions
vis--vis complying with the ADA. Access to such information and an
assured accountability loop is no trivial matters. Riders with
disabilities must have accurate real time information on
accessibility and safety hazards, the status of related complaints,
what it is doing to resolve them and a timeline for when such
actions will be taken and completed. Such riders need both to be
able to access this type of information and to know that WMATA will
work to resolve their concerns to plan their travels and trust that
if they use the system they can do so without ending up
marooned.
WMATA SHOULD ENHANCE MESSAGING AND SIGNAGE STRATEGIES THAT LET
RIDERS KNOW WHEN AND WHERE PLATFORM CONDITIONS MIGHT REQUIRE
GREATER ATTENTION TO ONE OWN AS WELL AS THAT OF OTHERS (I.E., THE
SYSTEM SHOULD HAVE AN EFFECTIVE AND TRANSPARENT COMPLAINT, FEEDBACK
AND ACCOUNTABILITY PROCESS IN PLACE).
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In the 1990s, WMATA to its credit took action on recommendations
I and others made that the subway system make use of all its
communication vehicles at the time e.g., announcements in the
stations, by train operations and via the digital signs as well as
via its website and e mail alerts to inform riders about elevator
outages. It now must use the same means as well as social media to
alert its riders about escalator outages/construction sites and
related accessibility and safety concerns one must be conscious of
when traveling on such platforms. Given the large percent of riders
using escalators and the traffic flow, accessibility and safety
hazards such outrages create prudence and commonsense requires this
be done. Train operators could make simple declarative statements
such as:
The platform elevator or escalator at xyz is not working. Expect
crowded conditions, use caution. Allow riders with disabilities
room to reach and use the elevator located toward the
front/middle/end of this train. Be safe and courteous.
Moreover, WMATA should use its website, social media, e mail
alerts, digital signs, etc., to convey similar messages to its rail
passengers, many of who are tourists and often know little to
nothing about how to use and navigate the system. Research is
showing that individuals that face multiple forms of scarcity in
life (e.g., time, money, space, etc.) often can have impaired
decision making as a result. A single track Metro platform is a
scarcity rich environment. The good news is the same research can
be used to ameliorate how such conditions affects personal
behavior.
Wheelchair users and others who must rely on its elevators face
additional hurdles and hazards. As I just noted, signage on the
platforms pointing out the direction in which the elevator(s)
is/are in is rare, randomly placed and in some cases, inaccurate or
contradictory, which leads to delays, overcrowding and compromises
safety. As a wheelchair user exiting a train, I have a nano second
in which to somehow divine which way to turn to reach the elevators
as dozens of others are gathered around waiting to get on the
train. If I have no idea which to turn and make the wrong decision,
I then get caught up in the throng trying to exit one or more
trains as well as platform level. I search out a sign but often do
not see them or go a good distance until I do. Because of my speech
disability, asking others where the elevator is located is not a
real option and even if it were I am not sure it would help anyhow
given few know where the elevators are located. If I have to turn
around ahead in the opposite direction, this can be difficult and
almost impossible during rush hour.
This could be remedied by WMATA upgrading and standardizing
signage and taking similar steps. For example, it could produce,
post and make available a simple map and an alternative and
accessible formatted document that identifies the approximate
positions of elevators and escalators in each station, which could
be accessible in print, online and an app version as well as a
station map on the platform before going through the gates. This
does not strike me as something that is too much to expect given
the stakes. Yet, there seems to be something deep in WMATAs culture
that is impervious or hostile to taking such commonsense actions or
regarding people with disabilities as anything more than a nuisance
it must put up with but is perfectly free to treat with
disregard.
For several months beginning last summer, elevators at LEnfant
Plaza and Gallery Place Chinatown, two of the most used transfer
stations, underwent major work at the exact same
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time. Doing this, in effect, render these major thoroughfares
inaccessible for months for unknown numbers of people with
disabilities and chronic conditions like diabetes asthma, COPD,
etc., who must rely on elevators and disproportionately because of
demographics and health disparities likely are children, adults and
older persons of color. Let me be clear, no one is objecting to the
absolute need or indeed, the desirability of making hundreds of
such necessary renovations in the rail system over what I gather
will be the next 5 to 10 years.
What I and others do object to, however, is WMATAs decision
making regarding the way, the timing, the time it takes for these
planned renovations to be carried out and we have questions that
demand answers:
Precisely why and how was the decision made to take elevators at
these major crossroads offline for several months and
simultaneously?
Did WMATA solicit public comment on its plans? Did it ask for
feedback from its Accessibility as well as its Riders Advisory
Councils (AAC and
RAC)? In WMATAs 4/15/14 Monthly Synopsis of WMATA Elevator and
Escalator Performance
prepared for the AAC, it indicates that scheduled outages of
elevators/escalators are not factored in when it determines the
performance rates. Why is this the case? And, why is this not
misleading?
In general, how does WMATA calculate its elevator performance
rate on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
In the 4/15/14 Synopsis the elevator performance rate for the
previous month was stated to be about 97%. There are about 289
elevators in the system, of which 40 are used by personnel only.
Was the 97% based on the 289 or a lesser number? If certain
elevators were excluded from the total count, why was this done?
And, why is WMATA so opaque about such matters with the AAC and the
public?
Did WMATA report to the AAC, RAC and its riders regularly before
and during the renovation projects on any complaints received and
follow up taken, any delays it experienced in completing the work
or any steps it was taken to hasten completion the projects or
lessen the impacts?
What steps has WMATA taken or is it willing to take to make its
scheduled renovation projects more transparent and easier for
riders with and without disabilities to plan around?
Would it really create an undue burden on the multi-billion
dollar public transit system to set clear deadlines and other
accountability measures it must meet as well as keep riders with
disabilities abreast of its progress and any delays it experiences
in completing these projects?
What due diligence and commonsense consideration if any did
WMATA give to the tumult, disruptions, confusion and melee such
extended outages create commuters and tourists with disabilities
relative to these and other construction projects?
And, what specifically, if anything, is it willing to publicly
commit to do differently to alleviate such construction related
accessibility problems going forward?
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WMATA SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER WHETHER THERE ARE WAYS TO REDUCE
SUCH RISKS BY HAVING TRAINS COVER THE AFFECTED PARTS OF THE TRACK
WHEN THEY ARE IN THE STATION.
Many, if not all, all of the accessibility and safety hazards
created by the escalator renovation process could be alleviated in
the following manner. Especially on single track platforms the
elevator is located quite a distance from where the front or last
car of the train stops when it pulls into the station. For example,
this is an approximation but the elevator at the McPherson Square
Station going toward to National Airport is a good 20 to 30 feet
from where the last car stops. On clutter free days, there is ample
room to go up most of this platform and others like it. However,
WMATA personnel seems to be increasingly getting into the habit of
parking forklift like tractors and other equipment along these
area, narrowing and making the path of travel more hazardous. Such
practices might or might not reflect what WMATA finds acceptable
practice. Either way it is still discriminatory placing many riders
with disabilities as well as families with toddlers in stroller and
young children who are advised by Metro to use the elevators
because it is safer at greater risk of harm, injury or worse.
The one way, I believe, such risks could be avoided is if WMATA
made it standard practice to stop the train at a place in each
station where the elevator is located at an extreme end so that no
part of the platform edge would be exposed. In other words, either
the first or last car would line up with the elevator. Currently,
this is sometimes but not always done. I do not pretend to have the
professional expertise to know if this is feasible or safe to do at
all such stations. I believe, however, this concept merits an
independent review as I have no confidence that WMATA will give it
just or serious consideration. For this reason, therefore, I
request that the FTA arrange for such independent evaluation to
take place at WMATAs expense. I believe such action can and should
be taken expeditiously to determine whether what I have proposed
can be done in a safe and reasonable manner, and would enhance the
safety of people with disabilities and others who must rely on such
elevators.
To continue with the chronology:
On June 11th, I received the following e mail from Mr. Stephens:
from: Stephens, Antonio to: Bob Williams , "[email protected]" cc:
"D'Angelo, Gerald W." , "Blake, Christiaan P." date: Wed, Jun 11,
2014 at 10:47 AM subject: Escalator Safety Complaint Good morning
Mr. Williams,
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Thank you for bringing this issue to the attention of Ms. Heidi
Case, a member of Metros Accessibility Advisory Committee. As the
ADA Ombudsman, I will also look into this specific situation and
address the safety issues you have raised. I am sure you know there
are a number of departments involved with the rehabilitation and
maintenance of the Metrorail system and the Office of ADA Policy
and Planning (ADAP) works with those departments to insure safe
access to and within the system is the priority. We will review the
work areas of the station identified by you and Ms. Case (Bethesda,
LEnfant Plaza and Columbia Heights) to determine if the required
work areas can be adjusted to safely maximize traffic flow along
the platforms. I will remain in contact with you and Ms. Case to
provide an update. Again, thanks for your concern and
recommendations. Regards, Antonio Stephens
On the evening of June 11th, I responded to Mr. Stephens and
copied representatives from several disability civil rights
organizations and officials from WMATA the U.S. Department of
Transportation:
From: Bob Williams Date: Wed, Jun 11, 2014 at 8:58 PM Subject:
Re: Escalator Safety Complaint To: "Stephens, Antonio" Cc:
"[email protected]" , "D'Angelo, Gerald W." , "Blake, Christiaan
P." , [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
"Orr, Derek K. (EOM)" , "[email protected]" , Carol Tyson , Sandy
Bernstein
Mr. Stephens I appreciate your e mail and the action you have
committed to undertake. However, I find your stated plan---- to
"review the work areas of the station identified by you and Ms.
Case (Bethesda, LEnfant Plaza and Columbia Heights) to determine if
the required work areas can be adjusted to safely maximize traffic
flow along the platforms" to be grossly insufficient to address the
serious and systemic nature of the threats I and others have
brought to WMATA's attention. Three people -- Ms. Case, Ms. Tyson
and I -- identified problems at one or more of the 3 stations you
cite. I am not all that good at statistics but I think if 3 people
who make limited use of the second most used-- 106.3 miles, 86
stations-- rail system in the U.S. identify problems at stations
they have been through, probability suggests such problems are far
more widespread. Accordingly, I will be filing a complaint with the
U.S.
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Department of Transportation and taking other steps to spur a
more comprehensive and sensible approach to investigating and
addressing these issues. Bob Williams
It has now been more than a month since I sent this last e mail
and over three months since I brought what I considered then and
still consider a life threatened hazard to WMATAs attention? What
have they done? I do not expect WMATA to take my word for it. But I
do expect the General Manager and Inspector General to make clear
to their subordinates that when WMATA riders make accessibility or
safety complaints, each must be investigated in a prompt, thorough
manner with an eye on identifying as well as eliminating or at
least lessening system wide problems rather than merely sloughed
off. Despite representations from WMATAs Special Agent DAngelo and
the ADA Ombudsman that they would investigate my concerns and
communicate back to me, neither has done so. In the interim, I
encountered yet another accessibility hazard which I am reporting
now. The elevator from the Green Line to the mezzanine level at
Fort Totten is located at the extreme far end of the track. In
fact, to get on the elevator one has to enter an area that is out
of view and very near the edge of the track. There is a U shape bar
in front of the elevator that I gather is WMATAs attempt at
preventing someone from falling on to the tracks. There are two
problems, however, with it. First, because it is U shaped a person
in a wheelchair, a child in a stroller or anyone else could slip
and fall right through it. Second, the bar does not extend far
enough from the elevator on to the platform to safely enter or exit
the area. Some might assert that this U shape bar meets some specs
in the ADAAG and that is all that matters. I believe, on the
contrary, that it poses an untenable and unnecessary risk. In fact,
at the King Street Station, where the elevator is also located at
the end of the platform but not precariously positioned as the one
at Fort Totten, substantial sets of bars runs from the elevator on
each side of the platform for at least 10 to 20 feet. What possibly
can explain yet alone justify this disparity inaccessibility and
safety levels before these two stations and I believe others as
well? I beg you, dont take my word for it. Investigate it and if
you see it the same way, remedy it.
In his June 11 e mail, the ADA Ombudsman indicated that WMATA
will {only} review the work areas of the station identified by you
and Ms. Case (Bethesda, LEnfant Plaza and Columbia) to determine if
the required work areas can be adjusted to safely maximize traffic
flow along the platforms. This sums up WMATAs recalcitrant riders
with disabilities beware and be damned approach to assuring ADA
compliance. WMATAs approach to investigating and resolving
accessibility and safety complaints based on my experience and
those of others I know seems to be to look at such reports only
when pressed, to delay as much as possible and to look at only
those specific concerns without considering let alone addressing
possible system wide implications or consequences.
I was told that at a recent meeting of the Metros Accessibility
Advisory Committee that when this issue was discussed one or more
members pointed out to Mr. Stephens that the accessibility and
safety hazards I and others have pointed up not just unique to a
small number of stations. But, rather, are caused by the way that
Metro repairs or installs new platform escalators. Presumably,
Christain Blake, the Director of ADA Policy and Planning at
WMATA
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was at the same meeting or heard about this discussion. Yet, Mr.
Stephens in his June 11 e mail explicitly states his inquires will
be solely limited to the work areas of the station identified by
you and Ms. Case (Bethesda, LEnfant Plaza and Columbia). I believe
this is evidence of WMATAs refusal and lack of capacity to take the
proactive steps necessary to assure that the system, when viewed in
the entirety, is readily accessible to and usable by individuals
with disabilities as required by Section 5O4 of the Rehabilitation
Act and the public transit provisions of the Americans with
Disabilities Act. For this reason, I am requesting and expecting
that the Federal Transportation Administration launch an expedited
and thorough review of the Nations Capital public transportation
system to determine if WMATA is meeting this bedrock
obligation.
FACT 2 ---- THERE IS NO EASY TO USE AND TRANSPARENT WAY TO
REPORT SAFETY AND ACCESSIBILITY CONCERNS TO WMATA VIA VARIOUS MEANS
MAIL, PHONE, E MAIL, TWITTER, SOCIAL MEDIA.
I have a significant speech disability. While I use an AAC
device to carry on conversations on the phone, it is not an
effective means of communicating about something as involved as an
accessibility or safety complaint to WMATA or any other public
entity covered by ADA or Section 5O4 of Rehabilitation Act. As a
matter of effective communication, I and others with hearing or
speech disabilities as well as the public writ large should be able
to share such concerns and complaints known in a variety of means,
including in person, via mail, phone, e mail, Twitter or social
media. This is 2013 after all.
Yet, there is no indication on the home page of the WMATA
website on how to file a complaint on any matter whatsoever. As I
said above, I e mailed my complaint to a nameless WMATA OIG e mail
address because it was the only one I could find on the morning of
April 9.
Later by surfing around, I found two places where information on
making complaints is available: The Metro Accessibility Resources
page and the Metro Customer Comment page. Both pages, however, are
buried deep in the bowels of the website and thus, extremely hard
to find. As the recent winner of the American Public Transit
Associations prestigious safety award, one might expect WMATA would
have a highly visible, timely and transparent complaint/safety
reporting process. Clearly, however, this is simply not the case.
Why not? Does WMATA not value receiving feedback, input and
complaints from the public on accessibility, civil rights, safety
and other concerns? WMATA is to be commended for its see it, report
it security campaign. It should embrace and extend this same ethic
to these other crucial realms as well.
I also want to point out that on the About Section of its
website, WMATA has posted a statement entitled, Metros Commitment
to Civil Rights - Title VI. It is good to see that WMATA recognizes
its commitment i.e., legal obligations not to discriminate and to
ensuring that:
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no person is excluded from participation in or denied the
benefits of its services on the basis of race, color or national
origin, as provided by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
However, I could find no policy statement on its website
pertaining to its commitment to the civil rights of other protected
classes such as women, older persons, individuals with
disabilities, veterans, LGBT persons and others. If WMATA is truly
cognizant of and committed to meeting its legal obligations to
ensuring equal access, nondiscrimination and the equal protection
of not just some but all of our countrys civil rights laws, it must
adopt a strong and inclusive policy statement that makes this
clearly. Accordingly, such a statement also should:
Be afforded prominence on its home page rather than be relegated
to the nondescript
About section and listed just above the Lost and Found tab where
the link for the Title VI is now located.
Be expanded and brought into the 21st Century by including
references to all protected classes covered by each and every one
of our Nations civil rights laws enacted over the last half
century. To do less disparages the rule of equal protection of our
laws.
Specify the position and contact information of the senior WMATA
official who has the requisite authority and responsibility for
investigating all not just some civil rights complaints. Absent
such clear lines of accountability, WMATAs commitment to civil
rights rings hollow.
Indicates that civil rights and other complaints and concerns
can be shared with WMATA via various means e.g., mail, phone, e
mail, Twitter, social media, etc., -- rather than indicate that all
such matters be addressed and mailed to some nameless and
accountability-free mailbox at its headquarters.
Designate one senior official with the authority,
responsibility, independence, staff and other resources to serve as
its Civil Rights Director to investigate and address any and all
civil rights matters brought to or found to be pertinent the
policies and operations of the system.
Require the WMATA General Manager to personally chair public
forums of riders, civil rights organizations and others to listen
and respond to and have his or her senior management team listen
and respond to the concerns, ideas and recommendations of these
constituencies. Such forums should occur quarterly so that one
could be held in each of the three jurisdictions WMATA is meant to
serve and an annual one for the region as a whole.
I do not know what WMATAs overall civil rights track record has
been. I do know, however, that WMATA had to be sued in 1972 for the
rail system to be made accessible and it was made accessible
reluctantly and largely as an afterthought. Since that time it has
been sued many times to force it to comply with various federal
disability civil rights and accessibility requirements. It has
generally resisted such litigation and at times has prevailed in
court. The bottom line point, though, WMATAs reputation and track
record in the disability community has never been good and, I
believe, is getting worse. Many like me based on the kind of
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experiences I have been describing do not have any reason to
believe its words, its actions or its promises when it comes to
complying with the law by operating an accessible, usable and safe
public transit system. WMATA, the jurisdictions that it serves and
help fund it as well as the federal government have a choice to
make. The transit system can continue this legacy or it can act to
reverse it. We are now in 2014 -- nearly a generation has passed
since the enactment of the ADA and Section 5O4 is over 40 years
old. The civil rights of people with disabilities to use the system
in an accessible readily usable and, therefore, safe manner should
no longer take a back seat or be regarded as an afterthought by
what WMATA touts on its website as being the second largest heavy
rail transit system, sixth largest bus network and fifth largest
paratransit service in the United States.
FACT 3 ---- THERE IS CREDIBLE EVIDENCE THAT WMATA OIG FAILS TO
INVESTIGATES OR REFER ON COMPLAINTS BY RIDERS CONCERNING HAZARDS
AND SITUATIONS AFFECTING THE LIVES AND SAFETY OF SYSTEMS RIDERS AND
PERSONNEL, IN A PROMPT, RESPONSIBLE AND TRANSPARENT MANNER
CONSISTENT WITH ITS CHARGE AND ROLE.
Taking Special Agent DAngelos at his own words, he was
responsible for the delay to the initial response, it was entirely
my fault. In other words, he did nothing with my complaint at all
except to try to mollify and make me go away. The problem goes
deeper than the actions, inactions and inertia of those with whom I
exchanged e mails. It seems to be an accepted part of WMATAs
culture and daily operations for which the WMATA Board, the General
Manager and the Inspector General, once again, have a clear choice
to make. They can either allow it to fester unchecked or they can
take decisive demonstrative leadership and action to reverse
it.
FACT 4 ----THERE IS CREDIBLE EVIDENCE THAT WMATA ROUTINELY FAILS
TO GIVE DUE CREDENCE TO, INVESTIGATE AND RESOLVE THE COMPLAINTS OF
RIDERS ESPECIALLY THOSE CLAIMING SERIOUS AND POSSIBLY SYSTEMWIDE
THREATS TO LIFE AND SAFETY ARE INVESTIGATED AND RESOLVED IN A
PROMPT, RESPONSIBLE, COMPREHENSIVE, TRANSPARENT AND PROACTIVE
MANNER.
Sadly, I already have provided ample evidence of this. On July
4th, probably the busiest most travelled day on Metro rail, twenty
seven escalators (about 5% of the total) were out of service. Of
these, sixteen are undergoing scheduled maintenance according to
the WMATA website. And, the same website indicates that only three
elevator had unexpected outages. Clearly, WMATA is to be commended
for its maintenance efforts. The problem, however, is I do not
truly know which or how many of the out of service escalators might
be creating the accessibility and safety hazards I have described
and nor does WMATA. Dont take my word for it. Investigate it.
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I would like to share two quotes that I believe sums up the root
cause of the problems I have outlined as well as points up one of
several steps that can and I believe WMATA must take to effectively
address them. Last September, when he was asked by local TV station
Fox 5 to comment on the delays and havoc caused to both commuters
and tourists with disabilities by the lengthy shut down and
replacement of elevators at the LEnfant Plaza, Gallery Place
Chinatown and other stations, Metro spokesperson Dan Stessel
stated: "The rehabilitation process really gives you a new elevator
in the end of it. You're building a new elevator within the
existing shaft. Mr. Stessels statement is true as far as it goes.
Like much of what WMATA says, however, it is far from the whole
truth. As Ms. Amy Scherer, a young professional wheelchair user who
commutes to and from work and meetings, made clear in the same
report the tumult created by such efforts are not trivial as some
like to discount. I urge the FTA to view the report in view and
consider whether the wheelchair aerobatics, delays and mind
boggling nuisances Ms. Scherer and countless others must contend
just to ride on what WMATA likes to brands as Americas Public
Transit system is consistent with Congress understanding and, I
believe, intent that public transportation must serve as the
linchpin for the integration of children, adults and older persons
with disabilities into our Nations community, schools, workplaces
and civic life. Is this what now passes for accessible public
transportation nearly a generation after the enactment of the ADA?
On this very note, though, let me also point up a hopeful note and
a possible way forward. In a recent interview in the Washington
Post about WMATA APTAs Gold Award for have been determined to be
the safest transit system in the country, General Manager Sarles,
of course, expressed genuine pride in his teams accomplishments.
But he also was quick to point out that now is not the time for he,
his staff, the publicly funded transit system or, would I add WMATA
riders, especially those with disabilities, to accept the status
quo. It is not good enough, it is not accessible or readily usable
enough and it is not safe enough. We can and must do better. I am
the first to say WMATA has come a long way. But, I agree strongly
with Mr. Sarles assertion that Theres more work to be done (its)
always a work in progress. The overhauling, construction and
replacement of hundreds of elevators and escalators throughout the
system over the coming years will place increasingly enormous
stresses and strains on the Metros accessibility, usability, safety
and viability as a public transit system. Simply put, I believe
this has all the making of a perfect storm and needs to be
addressed as such. I recognized that not all of these threats can
be completely eliminated despite whatever best efforts are
undertaken but much could and should be ameliorated. What I find
most disturbing and a major reason why I am filing this complaint,
however, is that I believe these issues are being given little to
no attention by WMATA generally and by its ADA Planning Office (ADA
PO) and the Accessibility Advisory Committee specifically. In
reviewing the minutes of the AAC and its bus and rail subcommittee
(BRS) for the last 12 months, two things became distressingly
apparent: Little to no discussion was cited on safety and
accessibility concerns involving the escalator
and elevators renovations and I saw no mention of the extended
shutdowns at LEnfant Plaza, Gallery Place Chinatown and other
stations, despite the known havoc it was creating.
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The few times such issues was raised really an AAC members or by
a member of the public, the ADA PO or other WMATA officials was
quick to promise to look into the matter and report back; yet I
found no mention of their doing so in subsequent minutes.
I do not make these statements lightly or to cast aspersions on
the hard work, diligence and commitment of the AAC. It is clear
from reviewing the minutes that the AAC is investing much in their
work and often is undercut in doing so by a deliberate opaqueness
and dismissiveness and patronization on the part of the WMATA
managers and staff with whom it must work. Again, I advise the TA
and General Manager and WMATA Board, do not take my word for it.
Read the AAC and BRC minutes and investigate it further.
Ultimately, the WMATA Board, the General Manager and the FTA have a
choice to make. Each can decide for themselves whether the issues I
have raised and the recommendations are serious and sound enough to
merit further investigation and action. My hope is that the Board
and General Manager will read my complaint as the wakeup call that
it is meant to be. Specifically, over the next 12 months as we
approach the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ADA, I hope that the
Board and General Manager will engage in open, honest and frank
discussion with Metro riders with and without disabilities and
others on: The state of the accessibility, usability, safety,
transparency and accountability of the
system today; and, What it will concretely take to make it the
most accessible, usable, safest, transparent and
accountable in the U.S. so that WMATA can be truly Americas
public transit system. Holding public forums will not solve all the
problems and what I fear are some deeply ingrained cultural bad
habits at WMATA. However, if the Board and the General Manager
engage, commit to and follow through on such public dialogue, it
can be a major step in restoring the trust and confidence of riders
with disabilities to leave the driving to Metro, which is one of
our most transformative civil rights. I hope that WMATA and the FTA
will review the concerns and substantial recommendations I have
outlined in this complaint in a prompt, serious and thorough
manner. Each year WMATA gives out what it calls the Richard
Heddinger Accessibility Award without acknowledging that he and
others disability civil rights leaders like Fred Fay spent much of
the 1960 and early 70s struggling to gain federal legislation and
then suing WMATA to compel it to make the subway accessible. We
cannot ignore this history or the vital lesson it reinforces:
Accessibility abroad in our land like all freedom requires
vigilance. (See tenBrock, Heddinger, Fay Powers and Schrag for some
history worth knowing.) Unfortunately, these lessons appear to be
being ignored. Instead, I believe that in 2014 the countrys second
largest public transit/rail system is operating, when viewed in its
entirety, with wanton disregard for the civil rights, effective
communication and information needs as well as safety of a class of
its ridership as if this were the 1950s. For this reason,
therefore, I request and expect FTA to compel WMATA to provide
substantive written responses to these questions,
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concerns and recommendations in an accessible format on its
website by September 15. If no such responses are forthcoming or
are insufficient or opaque, I will pursue other remedies and
avenues available to remedy these and other concerns. I further
urge that the situation I describe at Fort Totten be investigate by
WMATA immediately and report its findings and follow up actions to
the FTA and I by August 1. Thank you for your consideration of this
complaint. I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Bob
Williams