The SWTA Conference – A Dynamic Exchange of Ideas!

Contributed by Judy Shanley

This year’s South West Transit Association (SWTA) Annual Conference provided a venue for transit professionals representing eight southwestern states to address the most pressing issues facing public transportation providers and riders today. ESPA was there, sharing strategies with transit professionals related to creating partnerships across education and transportation sectors. The diversity of session formats and the opportunities for attendee interaction with each other and with prominent transportation officials, such as FTA Administrator, Peter Rogoff, and APTA President and CEO, Michael Melaniphy, enabled information sharing and problem solving around key topics, including veterans transportation and workforce development. Sessions described innovative partnerships, offered strategies to leverage scarce resources, and provided state, regional, and local examples around capacity building and systems change. The conference also offered attendees to jump onboard the latest transit vehicles, including the MV-1, the first vehicle to be assembled from the ground up for people with disabilities.

As ESPA continues to build its services to support accessible transportation, especially related to its work to strengthen student engagement and transit-education partnerships, we are fortunate to have the support and opportunities provided by SWTA.

MyTransportation.org – Finding Rides for Buckeyes

In 2010, Easter Seals Project ACTION visited Allen County, Ohio as part of the Accessible Transportation Coalitions Initiative. Now, the FACTS (Future of Accessible-Coordinated Transportation Services) coalition has launched MyTransportation.org, a central source to find a ride in their multi-county region. With a directory of local transportation options, a link to the local mobility management center, and information about older adult drivers, the site offers local residents the chance to hit the road in a whole new way!



Screenshot of MyTransportation.org Homepage

Getting Ready for a Maturing America from RWJF Public Health

Getting Ready for a Maturing America | Public Health
Shared from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Public Health
 
A recent article from the The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Public Health blog explores the challenges our nation faces as the population ages and how communities can be designed to be healthier and more accessible to individuals of all ages. A panel convened at the New Partners for Smart Growth Conference explored these challenges in depth. Panelists included

• Rebecca Hunter, M.Ed. of the University of North Carolina Institute on Aging and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthy Aging Network; 
• Mary Leary, a.v.p. Easter Seals Transportation Group;
• Joan Twiss, Center for Civic Partnerships; and
• Chris Kochtitzky, CDC Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services.

The connection between health and transportation is growing. As Leary, stated "Transport helps us get to everywhere that matters to us. When someone can no longer drive, it can cause depression. We’re a driving-centric society and we need to redefine mobility." Partnerships across all sectors of the communities - housing, environment, transportation, public health - are important for creating a safer environment that supports the mobility needs of older adults.

Jefferson County Rallies Agencies around Transportation Issues

At their August 2010 meeting, the ATCI team from Jefferson County, Colo. set out an ambitious agenda that focused on improving the coordination of services to create transportation options for disadvantaged populations. To best utilize existing resources in a difficult financial environment, they sought to better link geographic areas through improving the connections between organizations providing various modes of transit.

Following their two-day ATCI event, community stakeholders came together through a grant provided from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to form a Local Coordinating Council for Human Services Transportation (LCC).  The LCC has made several substantial steps forward on their objectives. The LCC includes representatives of local government, human services organizations, public, private and specialized transportation providers, and representatives of the disability and aging communities. The LCC developed by-laws, Participation Agreements and an Action and Sustainability Plan.  The group is also working with the Denver Regional Mobility and Access Council (a regional coordinating council) to develop a web-based one-call center to coordinate transportation resources in the Denver metropolitan region, drawing on best practice examples from around the country. 

Given their strong focus on the older adult community and with an eye toward addressing unmet needs in the area, the team was involved with the Jefferson County Aging Well Summits in June 2010 and June 2011. With nearly 180 attendees at each event, the venues provided an opportunity to discuss the impact of an aging population on transportation infrastructure.  The need for sustainable transit funding for specialized service provision in the area, as well as strategies that the community could use to adapt to such a sweeping demographic change were discussed.  The LCC has developed a White Paper on transportation to educate policy makers and the general population on the projected growing need for accessible transportation.

Using their collaborative strength and knowledge, the Jefferson County ATCI team continues to explore creative options and work to design a community in which people with disabilities and older adults are able to take part in all aspects of community life. 

Best Wishes for a Happy New Year

On behalf of all of us at Easter Seals Project ACTION (ESPA) and Easter Seals Transportation Group, we wish everyone a bright holiday season and a happy New Year!

2011 was a year of substantial growth for public transportation—according to the American Public Transportation Association over 51 million more trips were taken in the last quarter of 2011 than in the same period in 2010―and the need for more transportation options continues to grow. In recent congressional testimony, Billy Altom, executive director of the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living stated, “Lack of public transportation is one of the most serious, persistent problems reported by people with disabilities who live in rural America.” The National Council on Independent Living notes, “…there is still a substantial lack of accessible and affordable transportation. This absence poses serious barriers to employment, health care, and full participation into society by individuals with disabilities and older Americans […].”

To address the growing need for accessible public transportation, the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) initiatives in 2011 included:

·       new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and level boarding regulations,

·       the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Capital Grants Program,

·       programs within the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Livability Initiative as well as within the Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities among U.S. DOT, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,

·       the first ever conference on person-directed mobility management, and

·       a new United We Ride strategic plan with a focus on jobs, health and wellness, and coordination through access to transportation on behalf of people with disabilities, seniors and people with limited income.

In 2011, ESPA staff worked diligently to support our mission and address accessible transportation challenges. We created 11 new materials, with over 22 new products issued in the last two years. The demand for our services continued to expand—e-newsletter subscriptions increased by 61%. We now implement or take part in an average of eight events per month with participation from or collaboration with over 30 organizations. Over the last ten years, our Mobility Planning Services program assisted 159 teams, often providing targeted technical assistance for several years after completion of the facilitated planning sessions. This year, we released a ten-year retrospective of this program to share best practices and successes from some of these teams. As Bryna Helfer, director of public engagement at U.S. DOT, notes in her foreword to the retrospective, “We all know, however, that bringing about change is a complex process. It requires us to look at all of our transportation resources in the community and explore the potential for enhancing connectivity. It requires a willingness to come together to identify the challenges as well as the opportunities. It requires cooperation and coordination.”

2012 will mark the third year in a row where we venture out to ten communities to hold Accessible Transportation Coalition Initiative activities. These events, based on the Mobility Planning Services program, help local teams achieve systems-change goals to increase access to transportation for people with disabilities of all ages. Next year, major initiatives include youth transition to career and college through access to transportation, the intersection of health and transportation, independent living and mobility management, veterans’ transportation, multi-cultural sensitivity and accessible transportation, the expansion of travel training, and supporting the implementation of the new FTA ADA rules.

All of us at Easter Seals Transportation Group look forward to continuing to assist in the growth of accessible transportation through collaboration, cooperation, and coordination. We are honored to do this work, and all who meet us know of our deep commitment to mobility through transportation that fosters inclusion and independence for everyone. Thank you for connecting with us in 2011, and please visit our website, use our materials, attend our training, network with us at events, and let us know how we can continue to improve and expand what we do. May the New Year bring your communities closer to achieving access for all, anytime, anywhere, through easily navigable transportation modes that serve everyone.

Photo above includes staff at Easter Seals Project ACTION (ESPA) and Easter Seals Transportation Group. Text below the photo reads, “Thank you for supporting our work in 2011.
We wish you success and smooth travels in 2012!
Easter Seals Project ACTION, Easter Seals Transportation Group"

The Rail~Volution Evolution - Placemaking in America

Contributed by Rachel Beyerle and Krystian Boreyko

“Isn’t it mostly about rail?” a co-worker recently asked upon returning from presenting at and attending Rail~Volution this October in Washington, D.C. As the conference name implies rail is an integral part of the discussion at the annual Rail~Volution, and when Rail~Volution started in Oregon in 1989, its primary focus was development of the MAX light rail line in Portland. Rail~Volution has been a national conference since 1995 and has evolved with time. It’s no longer specific to Oregon. The 2011 Rail~Volution conference included a program and workshops spanning all subjects related to building livable communities: rail, pedestrian access, bus transit, design, bicycling, advocacy, and citizen involvement in the planning process. Attendees spanned four generations—all of them professionals working to find multi-modal, land use, housing, economic, and environmental answers to address transportation needs.  While it may not be just about the Pacific Northwest anymore, the Oregonians did share a term they use often: “intertwine.” 

What does it mean?  Intertwining is systems working together to create accessibility.  Intertwining lessons were learned throughout the conference.  From Santa Rosa, California, where advocates spent time at soccer fields to discuss a rail project with the Latino community; to the officials of the adjoining towns of Charlestown and Ranson, West Virginia who successfully applied for three federal grants to revitalize a major corridor that’s attracting new companies and to rehabilitate older manufacturing facilities to meet the needs of modern employers; to national policymakers finding the right ways—and words—to encourage great placemaking and explain the non-partisan benefits of public spaces; to community corporations explaining how practicing cultural sensitivity and listening to what’s important to neighborhood residents can mitigate tensions related to gentrification. Rail~Volution challenges attendees to think beyond the obvious roles transportation plays to deeper issues of how it shapes and is integrated into the community fabric. The notion of Development Oriented Transit was prevalent; instead of considering how transit moves individuals in and out of areas, planners and developers were encouraged to consider how transportation projects will impact the future identity of a community.

“Places are what we’re making,” Charles Fluharty, president and CEO of the Rural Policy Research Institute in Columbia, Missouri, stated in a session on small towns and rural regions.  Placemaking has evolved, just as Rail~Volution has evolved, and Easter Seals Project ACTION continues to have an intertwined role in supporting accessible routes to transportation, and in turn, raising awareness of the social, health, and economic benefits of livable communities.              

Take the Future by the Horns

Contributed by Judy L. Shanley

The theme of the 16th Annual Division on Career Development & Transition (DCDT) Conference, Take the Future by the Horns, is also a theme that resonates the spirit and direction of ESPA work related to students and schools. The national event offered something for everybody. Held in Kansas City, MO, the meeting was an opportunity for over 400 educators, transition specialists, students, family members, researchers, and human service organization representatives to come together to address topics related to secondary transition for youth with disabilities. The range of conference sessions enabled attendees to hear about transition practices analyzed by the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center (NSTTAC); learn about State infrastructures and evaluating systems of collaboration from nationally recognized University of Kansas researchers, Pattie Noonan and Mary Morningstar; and offer advice to ESPA staff, Mary Leary and Judy Shanley, during a focus group session about school-based transportation education.

Especially exciting was the commitment of the DCDT Board in response to activities proposed by ESPA related to strengthening our work about accessible transportation with schools and districts. ESPA staff heard repeatedly “limited transportation options for students has an impact on the community-based experiences that students have while they are in school, and also affects the opportunities that all students have once they leave high school”. DCDT Board and members expressed support for ESPA in our focus to assist educators, transition specialists, students, and families learn about transportation services and offered their continued support as partners with us in these efforts. ESPA will take the future by the horns to develop additional materials for educators, pilot new school-based initiatives, and continue to examine how transportation education can be integrated in student transition planning and academic standards, especially related to 21st century skills.

Partnerships with national organizations such as DCDT enable ESPA to access educators and transition specialists who can provide input to our materials, training, and technical assistance. Their contributions will help shape our work to strengthen coordinated transportation services for students to access community based experiences while in school. Importantly, our partnerships with organizations such as DCDT will guide our activities related to student use of accessible transportation to succeed in post school employment, education, and independent living settings.