Tanisha's transportation story

“I often use my wheelchair in the road. I’ve had people yell at me that it’s not safe, and I understand, but they don’t understand. If I get thrown off the sidewalk into traffic because there's a root or an uneven piece of the sidewalk, that is not safe.”

Tanisha lives in West Seattle and gets around on Metro buses and her wheelchair. The biggest barriers she experiences are sidewalks that don’t have curb cuts or that turn into dirt paths or roads without notice, forcing her to turn around and go all the way back and find someone's parking garage or driveway to use. Snow is an issue when it gets cleared from the road and pushed onto the curb, blocking curb cuts, which means Tanisha can’t leave her house. There is a lack of east-west buses in West Seattle so she has to go all the way north to go west, even to get to Lincoln Park, which is directly west of her. Cuts in service mean it is taking more time to get places. Tanisha would like to see better training and consistency with Metro drivers. For example, letting people who need the ramp get on first or last, and where to properly tie down a wheelchair. She’d also like more designated ADA seating, like the newer RapidRide buses have. On multiple occasions she’s had to wait for the next bus, or two, simply because both ADA spaces were occupied. A more accessible community for Tanisha would have many more ramps, clear curb cuts, more consistent bus schedules, shelters at all bus stops for rainy days, and more light rail.

“When it snows they sweep all the snow out of the road but they push it up onto the curb and curb cuts. So I'm literally unable to leave my house, because I can't get out.”

This story was originally published to Disability Rights Washington's Transportation Access Story Map. For more stories, please visit: https://www.disabilityrightswa.org/storymap/