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NEWS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY JUNE 24, 2009
AMTRAK (CONTINUED FROM 5)
the $600,000 in the Lawrence depot because of the efforts of the Depot Redux group. Because the money has to be spent within 18 months, the new platform will be under construction within the next year and three months, she said.
Bob Mikesic is interim executive director and advocacy coordinator at Independence Inc., a company that provides advocacy, services and education for people with disabilities. Mikesic said the new platform would provide a much more accessible option.
"It sounds like this was a major alteration," Mikesic said. "It's more likely that people will use it since bus routes have been reduced and trains are an affordable option."
accessibility.
Since the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, Lawrence has made many of its buildings, sidewalks and other facilities more accessible. Mikesic said older buildings' requirements were different because some were not designed to accommodate wheelchairs. He said the city did a good job of making sure buildings met requirements for
Tiffany Huggard-Lee, Columbia, Mo., graduate student, said transportation could be a difficult issue for students with disabilities, especially those who did not drive. She said the Amtrak platform renovations were an important improvement because they would allow accessible travel outside of Lawrence instead of limiting the majority of accessible transportation to destinations within the city limits.
"I think having a variety of accessible transportation options is extremely beneficial to society because it allows people to travel on their own terms with a minimum of barriers and hassle," Huggard-Lee said. "Hopefully students will find rail travel to be a practical option for transportation when other methods of travel are not as convenient."
Ryan McMeeney/KANSAN Amtrak conductor Rich Zaban checks his watch in preparation for departure Saturday night as Scott McLewning of Kansas City plays a fiddle tune with other local musicians outside the train depot at New York and 7th streets.
Huggard-Lee said no one transportation method could be ideal for everyone, so it was important to have a variety of travel options students could choose from.
Every night the "Southwest Chief" Amtrak train coming from Chicago stops at the depot for half an hour at midnight on its way to Los Angeles. To bring attention to the Lawrence depot and passenger rail in general, the depot has begun hosting musical performances during the layover. Last Friday musicians played from 11:30 until the train left at 12:32 a.m. Local musicians have volunteered to play in the station to entertain the passengers, crew and passersby. Maynard-Moody said the train stops in Lawrence every night, so any band is welcome to pick a night to play.
Dot Nary, Lawrence graduate student, said the new platform
Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN
was an important improvement to the accessibility of transportation. Nary, who uses a wheelchair, said that everyone should care about the improvements in accessibility throughout the community and that
the train was an option all students should consider.
"It will give all students more options in these times of high gas prices and when people are recognizing the need to reduce our
carbon footprint," Nary said. "It's a welcome change that has been a long time coming."
Edited by Dylan Sands
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