Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: There is a bus stop nearly in front of my door. A few years ago, a cement slab was poured, extending about 15-20 feet from the bus stop sign. Recently, a "no parking, towaway" and handicapped sign were added. I park about 15 feet from the end of the concrete slab, leaving generous room for the bus stop. Making room for disabled
curbs parking at bus stopsRecently, a man in a wheelchair moved into my neighborhood. One day, he purposefully struck my car, apparently angered by where I parked. I called TheBus inquiring as to how far one must park from a bus stop. I was told 75 feet before and 75 feet after the sign. That nearly wipes out the entire area in front of my house and my neighbor's house! Is this correct? I understand that disabled folks need some concessions, but my rights are being trampled by their rights. How do I get the bus stop removed?
Answer: The length of a bus stop "zone" depends on its location, the length of the buses used and the frequency of service. "No parking" restrictions range generally from 90 to 150 feet, but possibly 20 feet more if a route handles articulated buses or another 50-70 feet if more than one bus is expected to be at a stop simultaneously.
The bus stop fronting your house apparently is a mid-block stop, so a 150-foot minimum zone is needed to allow buses to pull in to become completely parallel to the curb to accommodate a disabled passenger.
The Americans With Disabilities Act required that all future transit buses purchased by the city to be equipped with wheelchair lifts. Out of a current fleet of 525 buses, 390 --74 percent -- are so equipped, according to the city Department of Transportation Services. TheBus recorded 105,000 wheelchair passengers in the last fiscal year.
In your case, the 150 feet starts at the bus stop sign and extends back, said Paul Steffens, chief of the city's Public Transit Division. A bus needs room to pull in, but doesn't need much space to pull out, he explained.
Asked how someone is supposed to know where a no-parking zone around a bus stop begins and ends, Steffens said all "official" stops should have red curbing designating the no-parking area.
But he acknowledged not all the stops yet do. "We prioritize them according to where disabled people actually use the bus stops," he said. For the ones without such marking, "the enforcement basically has not really taken place until we get the curbs painted."
The city has adopted a policy of implementing parking restrictions at individual bus stops based on requests from disabled passengers or other concerned individuals or organizations, according to Transportation Director Cheryl Soon. Without knowing exactly where you live, she speculated that may have happened in your case and that ultimately, "the ADA mandates the city's compliance."
As for getting rid of a bus stop, Steffens recommended either writing a letter to Transportation Department or to your neighborhood board. An issue like this "eventually ends up in a neighborhood board's lap because there's always opposing views," Steffens said.
"The two hardest things in the world are to put a bus stop in and take one out."
Auwe
To the fast-food restaurant in the Waiau/Pearl city area. The same person who was my cashier barehandedly filled and wrapped my food. I work as an exotic dancer nearby so I know where that money has been. (The night manager did not understand my concern.) -- Amber(We passed your complaint on to the state Department of Health's Sanitation Branch.)
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