Access Advisory Committee to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150, Boston, MA. 02116-3968
Voice: 857.702.3700, Fax: 617. 570.9192, TTY: 617.570.9193, E-mail: AACT@ctps.org

Board of Directors Minutes

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Meeting opened at 10:01 AM

Board of Directors

Chairman - James F. White
Vice Chairman - Rick E. Morin

Executive Board

Mary Ann Murray
Ian Perrault
Beverly Ann Rock
Lisa Weber

Reading of the agenda

Introductions

Attendees

James White, Rick Morin, Ian Perrault, Mary A. Murray, Lisa Weber, Remon Jourdan, M. Archer, David Vieira, and Beverly A. Rock

Other

Carol J. Harrington, and Laura Brelsford

Approval of BOD Meeting Minutes

• A motion to approve the minutes of February 25 was made by Lisa Weber and seconded by Mary Ann Murray
• A motion to approve the minutes of March 25  was made by Ian Perrault and seconded by Mary Ann Murray
• A motion to approve the minutes of May 27was made by Mary Ann Murray and seconded by Ian Perrault

All minutes were approved unanimously.

Chairman’s Report

Chairman White commented on the following:

• On Wednesday, July 22, Boston celebrated 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act with activities taking place on the Boston Common. All AACT members were encouraged to attend the festivities.
  
  
• He read Governor Baker’s response letter to AACT concerning the specially created commission to review the MBTA operations from last March (see the attached).
  
  
• He explained that the Department of System-Wide Accessibility (SWA) is initiating a survey that will focus on AACT’s growth and outreach
  
  
• He discussed the 85 Accessibility Initiatives compiled by the SWA. He made the following points: (1) AACT had no input in the compiling of the document nor did AACT know that process was taking place; (2) AACT did not know about the document which came as a surprise at Judge King’s public meeting update; and (3) any accessibility related matters should be shared with the AACT chairman as a courtesy. He explained that input to initiatives were compiled with the help of the BCIL, and in response to complaints from consumers and other organizations. He noted that he discussed the matter with Laura Brelsford, SWA Assistant General Manager, who told him that he had given her approval to bypass the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the MBTA and AACT. Chairman White stated that he would never have done that without getting feedback from the full AACT membership. He noted that this is clearly a violation of the MOU between the MBTA and AACT. Chairman White asked that a letter be addressed to Ms. Brelsford detailing his concerns.

He asked for comments or questions. There were none.

Treasury’s Report

Chairman White noted that Ms. Woodman was sent a letter explaining why the check donated by her brother was returned.

MBTA’s Rider Oversight Committee (ROC)

Lisa Weber, AACT Board of Directors and representative to ROC, discussed the activities of the committee. She reported that Annette Demchur, Manager of Transit Planning at the Central Transportation Planning Staff, along with another presenter, gave a thorough presentation about the MBTA’s revised service delivery plan. She asked attendees to discuss what works and what does not work across all fixed-route transportation modes.

Ms. Demchur heard the following from attendees:

• Better equipment and more frequent and reliable service is needed.
• There should be less bus bunching.
• Orange Line data should be compiled to investigate when the line – particularly Downtown Crossing Station – is the most crowded.
• Better communication across the commuter rail, as well as across the other modes, is needed.
• The MBTA should speed up service on the fixed route and have vans run parallel to pick up wheelchair passengers, which may speed up the boarding process. Ms. Weber and Mr. Perrault informed the group that that could be considered a form of discrimination, because these passengers would not be mainstreamed on the fixed-route system.

She asked for questions or comments. There were none.

Chairman White thanked her for the report.

Regional Transportation Advisory Council (RTAC)

Mary Ann Murray, AACT’s representative to RTAC, reported that the Council members did not meet in July, but took a field trip by commuter boat from Boston to Hingham to observe several Metropolitan Planning Organization sponsored projects. She also noted that the RTAC elections will be taking place soon.

She asked for questions or comments.  There were none.

AACT Survey Draft

Matt Archer, assisting Jessica Podesva, gave an overview of the upcoming survey by the Department of System-Wide Accessibility that is designed to assist AACT with expanding its membership and its growth. The survey will target some 500 people. The AACT Board reviewed the survey draft and gave feedback. Suggestions were made concerning AACT information and a few minor details to update the survey. The document will be forwarded to the AACT board to review with the updates and suggestions and will be discussed at the September AACT meeting.

Department of System-Wide Accessibility (SWA) 85 Accessibility Initiatives (85AI)

Laura Brelsford, Assistant General Manager for SWA gave an overview of the 85 Accessibility Initiatives that were documented over a period of more than a year. She noted that this is a living document that will be added to going forward. A full report will be presented in November. She asks members to contact her office if they would like to add to the document.

Chairman White thanked Ms. Brelsford for her comments.

Open Discussion

Chairman White discussed his concern about the privatization of the 30 bus routes by the MBTA. L. Brelsford stated that she and Chris Hart have the same concerns and that they are drafting language for a letter stating the need for ADA training for passenger safety.

M.A. Murray commented that since she is in a wheel mobility device obtaining seating on the commuter rail train is not an option; she is told where to position her device, which does not seem fair. She also commented that customers with bikes place their bikes in the open space area where a mobility device can be positioned for travel.  Chairman White advised that she speak with the Keolis Commuter Services representative.

J. Tozza stated that when traveling from Malden Station on the Orange Line inbound to Downtown Crossing in a mobility device he found it difficult to get to the outbound entrance to the CharlieCard Store. He commented that the signage was limited and useless. Chairman White suggested that he speak with someone at SWA who is in charge of the Wayfinding project.

D. Vieira noted that he too has experienced difficulty in finding seating for persons with disabilities during non-peak hours. He finds often that people with disabilities are seated next to a restroom or that bikes are blocking their seating areas. He commented that he had been in contact with Laura Brelsford. Chairman White recommends that he speak with the Keolis Commuter Services representative.

Chairman White asked that a letter be drafted and sent to Therese McMillan inviting her to be the keynote speaker for AACT’s November 18th Summit. The board of directors agreed with his suggestion.

Old/New Business

None was presented.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 AM. 

Notables

The AACT Executive Board will meet from 10:00 AM to noon and the Membership meeting will be conducted from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM on the fourth Wednesday of the month, except when noted.

AACT can be found at on the MBTA website at www.mbta.com/aact. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the MBTA and AACT; the AACT Bylaws; ADA Regulations, as well as agendas, calendar items, upcoming meetings, and past meeting minutes can be obtained by accessing those highlighted links on AACT’s webpage.

Comments and questions concerning AACT should be directed to Chairman James White by contacting the AACT Coordinator, Ms. Janie Guion, at 857.702.3658 (voice/relay), 617.570.9193 (TTY), AACT@ctps.org (email), or c/o CTPS, 10 Park Plaza, Suite 2150, Boston, MA 02116 (US mail).

The AACT meeting location is accessible to people with disabilities and is near public transportation. Upon request (preferably two weeks in advance of the meeting), every effort will be made to provide accommodations such as assistive listening devices, materials in accessible formats and in languages other than English, and interpreters in American Sign Language and other languages. Please contact the MPO staff at 857.702.3700 (voice), 617.570.9192 (TTY), 617.570.9193 (fax), or publicinformation@ctps.org (email).

The MPO complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal and state non-discrimination statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. The MPO does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, English proficiency, income, religious creed, ancestry, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or military service. Any person who believes her or himself or any specific class of persons has been subjected to discrimination prohibited by Title VI, ADA, or other non-discrimination statute or regulations may, her or himself or via a representative, file a written complaint with the MPO. A complaint must be filed no later than 180 calendar days after the date on which the person believes the discrimination occurred. A complaint form and additional information can be obtained by contacting the MPO (see above) or at www.bostonmpo.org.

Members needing service information or wanting to inquire about MBTA services should do so through the MBTA Marketing and Communications Department at 617.222.3200 or 800.392.6100 (voice), 617.222.5146 (TTY), Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 8:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM, or via the MBTA’s website at www.mbta.com/customer_support/feedback/.

Please sign in at all meetings.

Announcements are always welcome. Please be prepared to give as many details as possible: date, time, location, contact person, and phone number. A written notice is always appreciated.