City government of Manchester, New Hampshire is discriminating against disabled people dealing with StepSaver from Manchester Transit Authority
Kenneth Stremsky
proud citizen of the United States of America. Tried to take my photo at night and it looks like Solar Eclipse.
Will Media investigate if cities are designing bus routes to discriminate against black disabled areas while providing coverage to white disabled areas?
www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/media-coverage-cities-designing-bus-routes-against-stremsky/?published=t
Letter to Federal Transit Administration on it dealing with harm it is causing disabled people.
Ask youself following question
Member of your family gets paralyzed in a car accident. She lives in Ward 1 in Manchester. She applies for StepSaver which is required within 3/4 miles of fixed bus route by Americans With Disabilities Act. She gets approved and is told she has to travel a half mile for a van to pick her up because Route 5 has been turned into a shuttle service for healthy college students. Would this anger you?
80 percent of the cost of StepSaver comes from Federal Government. Manchester provides StepSaver in Bedford, Hooksett, etc
The situation in Ward 1 is easy to fix and city government does not care.
On 45 minute routes of Route 5 has Union Street to go to SNHU and then River Road after leaving SNHU. Lot more people now live within 3/4 miles of route 5 so van now pay pick up paralyzed female at her house.
When I mentioned to Executive Director Mike Whitten of Manchester Transit Authority using Union Street after leaving SNHU, he complained about SNHU students having to wait to hour routes to get home. I think SNHU students are smart enough to walk from Union Street to Colonial Village on River Road - it is nearly straight line street connecting them. I think SNHU students are smart enough to take many of the streets that connect Union Street to River Road and then walk left or right.
SNHU students are able to get from SNHU to apartments on River Road when bus uses Union Street to go to SNHU and then River Road after leaving SNHU.
City government does not care about the bus needs of people in North End of Manchester who live on the many streets that connect to Union Street. Taxpayers in the North End provide lot of taxes to Manchester and we are betrayed by city government. Our high school students do not have easy access to Manchester Transit Authority buses. Students who live near me have to walk over mile to get to route 5.
Reminder: Free MTA bus service for city high school students
https://manchesterinklink.com/reminder-free-mta-bus-service-for-city-high-school-students/
Betrayal of State Legislature of New Hampshire that caused many people to die from drugs discussed in
Response to "Bad Law Keeps People Poor" by John Stossel. Jan Matzeliger - a black man - is reason why shoes are affordable.
www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/response-bad-law-keeps-people-poor-john-stossel-jan-stremsky/?published=t
Quotes from 2014 article from Union Leader -
Advocates want more money from liquor sales to treat addiction
discusses 2001 state law - use "5 percent of gross profits from the New Hampshire Liquor Commission to treatment programs. " State Legislature refused to do this and lot of people have died.
Bus and affordable housing articles
Buses and economic development articles on
Soldiers go to War and many become disabled and/or homeless. Does Manchester care? Helping Manchester's students. Transportation, housing, etc.
Response to "Parks become campsites with homeless influx: What's the city to do?" Answer - Help people, jobs, health care, compassion, etc.
www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/response-parks-become-campsites-homeless-influx-whats-stremsky/?published=t
info from before August 30, 2019
Combating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities
www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Discrimination/Pages/discrimination_disabilities.aspx
"Over 650 million people around the world live with disabilities."
" Persons with disabilities make up the world's largest and most disadvantaged minority. "
Disability Discrimination
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/disability.cfm
Disability discrimination
Equality and Human Rights Commission
https://equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/disability-discrimination
Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html
"We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal."
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March 26, 2019 - City government finally decided to change the Information on StepSaver website - it now says "StepSaver covers areas of Manchester that are three quarters of a mile along the fixed route."
City government is still discriminating against disabled people in Ward 1. Joyce Craig used to be Alderman for Ward 1.
April 22, 2019 and April 26, 2019
Manchester Transit Authority should ask VA how many disabled veterans live in Ward 1 and how many veterans have disabled family members - children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren. Manchester Transit Authority should ask for similar info dealing with other Wards in Manchester. Other cities with VA and StepSaver like service may want to do similar.
Federal Transit Administration - part of U.S. Department of Transportation - November 2015 circular
www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/Final_FTA_ADA_Circular_C_4710.1.pdf
"Chapter 8 - Complementary Paratransit Service
8.1 Introduction
In crafting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Congress recognized that even when a fixed route transit system is fully accessible, there will be some individuals whose disabilities prevent them from using the system. Congress therefore created a "safety net" to ensure that these individuals have transportation available to them on the same basis as individuals using fixed route systems. "
Lot of info in Chapter 8. Millions of people in USA may be getting harmed because Federal Transit Administration has forgotten why the "safety net" exists. People should not be denied the "safety net" because of the Federal Transit Administration.
If Manchester or another city wants to provide StepSaver like service more than 3 miles from a fixed bus route, it should be able to do so. Federal Transit Administration should not keep this from taking place.
A city could receive many millions of dollars a year now for buses from Federal Government and still discriminate against disabled people in part of a city. This needs to stop. If a city receives lot of money for buses from Federal Government, all of the city should be covered by StepSaver like service. Added Federal Government to this paragraph on April 26.
April 25, 2019
I was using buses in 1992 from Manchester Transit Authority.
If city government adds $700,000 or more to budget of Manchester Transit Authority, it could increase tax base of Manchester by millions of dollars.
One of articles on it -
Public Transit Is Worth Way More to a City Than You Might Think
A new report finds a hidden economic value of anywhere from $1.5 million to $1.8 billion a year.
by Eric Jaffe
Aug 14, 2013
www.citylab.com/life/2013/08/public-transit-worth-way-more-city-you-think/6532/
If Manchester has high quality bus service, it could have very tall apartment towers and other very tall buildings in downtown Manchester like Boston and parking garages far away from the very tall buildings. Manchester is not going to have the ability to have very tall buildings downtown when cars are the main way of getting people downtown. Think traffic and lack of parking downtown are a problem downtown now - try just adding one very tall building with a parking garage with same bus service Manchester has now.
StepSaver situation in Ward 1 would also be fixed if a new bus route is created - Use Union Street to go to SNHU. After leaving SNHU, bus uses Union Street to go to Union Street and Campbell Street. Bus goes down Campbell Street to Hannaford at North Side Plaza. Bus then uses Hooksett Road to go to Livingston Park. Bus then goes downtown. People could buy food from restaurants in the area and eat the food at Livingston Park. The bus could arrive shortly before Route 5 gets downtown. Many businesses in area pay lot of taxes to Manchester. Many healthy people and many disabled people in North End of Manchester pay lot of property taxes to Manchester but are being denied access to bus by city government.
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Following Info was posted before March 23, 2019
I have been trying to fix the situation since I found out about it in December 2018.
WHY DOES THE CITY GOVERNMENT - STEPSAVER WEBSITE SAY "ALL OF MANCHESTER" IS COVERED WHEN ALL OF MANCHESTER IS NOT COVERED?
Disabled people are being denied access to StepSaver because City government of Manchester cares lot more about healthy college students than disabled people.
Most of the funding for StepSaver comes from the Federal Government.
A person has to be within 3/4 miles of fixed bus route to use StepSaver. Lot of homes near me.
StepSaver exists to help people who use wheelchairs, disabled veterans, other disabled people, others.
I have been talking about having the route 5 on hour routes stay same while on 45 minute routes using Union Street after leaving SNHU. Lot more people covered by StepSaver. Executive Director Mike Whitten of Manchester Transit Authority discussed why he does not like this in one of his letters to me.
Few days ago wrote to Mike
Route 5 could stay same on hour routes - 7am, 9am, etc
On 45 minute routes - 7:45 am, 9:45 am, etc
Use Union Street to go to SNHU. Stop at Union Street and Campbell Street. After leave SNHU, use River Road as it does now. Lot more people covered by StepSaver.
StepSaver
https://mtabus.org/services/stepsaver/
It says
"StepSaver covers all of Manchester, as well as parts of Goffstown, Bedford, and Hooksett, three quarters of a mile along the fixed route bus system.
It should say covers parts of Manchester, etc
Why does it say covers all of Manchester when it does not?
"StepSaver is an origin to destination shared-ride transportation service offered by the Manchester Transit Authority as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990."
The Faces and Facts of Disability
Social Security Administration
www.ssa.gov/disabilityfacts/facts.html
"Disability is unpredictable and can happen to anyone at any age"
"The sobering fact for 20-year olds is that more than 1-in-4 of them becomes disabled before reaching retirement age."
Route 5
https://mtabus.org/routeschedules/route-map/route-5/
New bus route designs that would benefit SNHU students on Manchester plan.
Helping homeless people in Manchester at bottom of plan. SNHU students, profesors, alumni, others might want to help the plan be successful. I greatly appreciate how important SNHU is to Manchester and other cities in New Hampshire.
Manchester Plan
Manchester Airport and public transportation, economic development, competing against Boston Logan International Airport
part of my plan for Social Security
Improving Social Security and Social Security Disability, Saving Lives, Puerto Rico
Disabled veterans, other veterans, others are not allowed to use the bathrooms at Veterans Park while buses are operating but the bathrooms are open during events at SNHU Arena.
Have federal funds ever been used dealing with Veterans Park?
Is City government of Manchester breaking the law dealing with the Americans with Disabilities Act by keeping bathrooms at Veterans Park closed while buses are operating harming disabled people and others while keeping bathrooms open for events at SNHU Arena?