Disability advocates have gathered near the Powell Street BART station to call for more funding to address accessibility issues with public transportation in and around the Bay Area.
Standing in front of a broken elevator on Market and Fifth streets on Wednesday, Carter Lavin, a Bay Area transportation activist, called for the city and state government to provide more funding to ensure stations like the Powell Street BART/MUNI location are easily accessible to those who have disabilities or are pregnant or elderly.
“A broken elevator is a choice and it’s a choice that causes suffering. A continuously broken elevator is a statement,” Lavin said at the rally. “What good is a train if you can’t get on it?”
Other speakers requested the SF Paratransit program improve access for riders, who have to know when and where they are going 24-hours in advance, something advocates say people without disabilities don’t have to do.
Paratransit is managed by the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA), which offers vans and taxis to residents with disabilities.
“Too often, people with serious disabilities are left out or forgotten,” said Shaya French with San Francisco Senior and Disability Action.
‘One hand tied behind their back’
Lavin said that transit agencies are trying, but that they are dealing with limited budgets.
“The problem is they are being starved to death,” he said. “This summer, the governor proposed a multi-billion dollar cut to transit systems and these agencies are fighting with one hand tied behind their back.”
Lavin said advocates need California Sens. Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein as well as Rep. Nancy Pelosi to push for federal funding.
BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said in an email that BART maintains a 98.7 percent availability for their elevators across the system. “Nothing is more important than maintaining access for all riders at BART.”
Trost also said the elevator at Market and Fifth streets falls under the City of San Francisco’s jurisdiction.
The San Francisco Department of Public Works did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tenderloin resident Luis Castillo, who uses a wheelchair, spoke about the need to make public transit easier to navigate. “There’s always some kind of issue,” he said.
Castillo added that there is a need for two elevators at both sides of the Powell Street station given the size of the plaza.
“This is very important to our city!” he said. “This is our city!”