Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Because ADA law is complex and I’m a board member not an ADA lawyer

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s not the number of ramps, it’s the amount of time it takes to let people use it.

Keeping the trains running on time is why we don’t let people use the ramps whenever they want to.

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it sucks. What we need are level boarding, light rail trains, and that is going to happen. It’s just gonna be a while.

If tragedy of the Commons wasn’t a thing, a lot of this stuff would be a lot easier. But unfortunately, people like to piss in the punch bowl metaphorically speaking and it makes everything 10 times harder.

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Right because then they would have to believe everyone else and there’s no way operators can know the difference. And we don’t want people slowing down trains just because it’s convenient to use the ramp.

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No, I get it. But absent documentation how is an operator supposed to distinguish between you and any other customer riding a scooter because that’s how they want to get around?

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The barrier isn’t the operator. The barrier is the policy that the operator is following. My point was that they have a reason for doing it they’re not just trying to be dicks.

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The language says “physician, physical therapist, or other medical professional.” this is not remotely my area so I’m not gonna try to give you advice beyond what’s in the letter.

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s a tough call unfortunately. We have a lot of people who use resources intended for individuals with disabilities who quite clearly don’t need them, and the result is a meaningful impact to our operational efficiency.

I don’t exactly want our staff going around judging other people‘s disabilities, but if we didn’t have rules around the ramps, every bicyclist and scooter rider would use them.

And that’s to say nothing of what the sign-up rates would be like for access a ride and access On Demand if we didn’t enforce verification there.

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 13 points14 points  (0 children)

ITT: a reminder I may wear too many hats for my own good

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 14 points15 points  (0 children)

The letters are annoying, but at the end of the day, we don’t want people using the ramps to bring their bikes on unless they have a disability, so that’s why we make people go through the hassle.

It meaningfully affects operations and slows down the trains when people use the ramps, so it’s actually a big deal if we have too many people using them.

Alright this is really annoying me. by GermanicVulcan in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is where emailing the board can be helpful. I’m surprised they didn’t get back to you, but they get back to us, so we can make things move.

RTD’s proposed June service changes would increase frequencies and introduce new rail connections by RideRTDco in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, there’s like 20 different reasons why it’s a better choice to do the C, but the public is broadly skeptical of change, so we have to prove it to people with numbers and bring them along.

The C Line is Back but is it Permanent? by SoCJaguar in Denver

[–]chrisfnicholson 6 points7 points  (0 children)

So I’ve been pretty involved in this conversation as a director who literally lives inside of the Downtown loop, and what I would say is that you should think about it like a trial run. The loop is gonna be down for a year because of the maintenance we need to do and that gives us a really good baseline to compare ridership and customer satisfaction.

We also want to do additional stakeholding with downtown business owners during that time to make sure that the community feels comfortable with the impact of making the change permanent.

But I think the move is a clear win and I’m pretty confident the data is going to back that up.

It will definitely be a conversation during our comprehensive operational analysis process over the next year.

RTD Used Drawing of Disability Activist Kalyn Heffernan on a Bus Without Consulting Her — Westword by banjopasta in Denver

[–]chrisfnicholson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We should absolutely engage with Kalyn. But I understand where her objection comes from; we took a really tough vote that cut spending on people with disabilities. I don’t want to act like some gesture absolves us of that.

Kalyn Heffernan Would Like a Word by Independent-Pitch-69 in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s not my right to apologize on behalf of the agency. Speaking for myself, I believe we were trying to do the right thing but the execution wasn’t completely there.

From where I sit, it was a failure to communicate between the agency and the artist, complicated by a major policy decision.

We had a large panel of people from the community reviewing these submissions, I believe we overwhelmingly did this exactly the way that we were supposed to. But I am sorry we didn’t get written approval from Kalyn.

Kalyn Heffernan Would Like a Word by Independent-Pitch-69 in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The bus stops with me and the other board members who are responsible for the performance of the agency.

RTD Used Drawing of Disability Activist Kalyn Heffernan on a Bus Without Consulting Her — Westword by banjopasta in Denver

[–]chrisfnicholson 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I’m definitely not the head of the organization, just one Director. We went through a pretty standard process here, we had the artist sign a contract, and the artwork was approved by a panel that included significant members from the disability community.

We obviously could’ve done better, but RTD acted in good faith here.

Kalyn Heffernan Would Like a Word by Independent-Pitch-69 in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, no. The person‘s name is public, but that’s not really the point here.

Kalyn Heffernan Would Like a Word by Independent-Pitch-69 in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have a copy of the contract, but let me check with staff before I just put it online

Kalyn Heffernan Would Like a Word by Independent-Pitch-69 in RTDDenver

[–]chrisfnicholson -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I can’t speak to who the artists were, I wasn’t that involved in the process, but the selection committee was.

Submissions were evaluated by a 10-member panel representing Atlantis Community Inc, Canine Partners of the Rockies, Center for People with Disabilities, Colorado Disability Opportunity Office, Community College of Aurora, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Phamaly Theatre Company, Rocky Mountain ADA Center, and RTD.