Not everyone has access to metro travel

A recent test of an access ramp solution left two ALTA representatives disappointed at the lack of autonomy offered by a Montreal Transit Authority (STM) measure that relies on a portable metal plank to serve as a bridge between the platform and the train.

The use of such a ramp is necessitated by a gap between the train and the platform. The train's rubber wheels provoke fluctuation in the distance between the train's door and the platform, due to a certain amount of give depending on the number of people on the train. The heavier the load, the lower the train door. The lighter the load the higher the door. In both cases, the train and platform are not aligned, causing serious problems for anyone having to access the train in wheelchairs of any sort.

"That's not accessibility," says ALTA president Louis Lapointe. The test of the method led to the conclusion that it is ill-conceived. The back wheels of wheelchairs get blocked at the edge of the plank, which is at a sharp angle on the platform side.

"For people with weak arms, it's impossible (to negotiate the ramp) without help. You can forget any kind of autonomy," says Mr. Lapointe, who joined three other 'guinea pigs' invited to test the ramp last month.

The gradual replacement of trains in the system, whose completion is expected in 2010, will not solve the problem of the gap between the platforms and the trains in Laval or Montreal, she notes.

"Even though the Laval metro stations are new, they have to comply with existing trains. New trains will also have rubber tires. There will always be a gap. To bring in new cars, you'd have to change the whole system," Mrs. Rouette explains.

Apart from those working in the metro stations, a rider does better with the adapted service provided by the Société de Transport de Laval (STL) which goes door-to-door, says Eric Fortin, Director of ALTA.

"The reality of adapted metro service will only come to pass when Montreal stations are rendered accessible," notably for ALTA members who work in Montreal, Mr. Fortin adds.

Five Montreal stations on the Orange Line (that links to Laval's line) will undergo changes in the next four years to accommodate passengers in wheelchairs: Henri-Bourassa, Berri-UQUAM, Bonaventure, Côte-Vertu and Lionel Groulx. The STM has given itself 25 years to make changes in the entire network. On average, it takes $10 million to equip one station.

"We know that this is an enormous investment," admits Louis Lapointe. The Metro was built in 1967, when all handicapped people were stored in closets. Now we go out, we go see friends, we go to school. And there are baby boomers on the way who have always been active and who now will be sitting in some sort of mobile convenience. I'm telling you now: Grey Power will let itself be heard!"