Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Elevators Inaugurated In Montreal Metro

Photo: A woman uses the new elevator at Montreal's Lionel-Groulx metro station while members of the media look on. (CBC TV)

From The CBC:

The inauguration of two new elevators means Montreal's metro system is becoming more accessible to those with reduced mobility, but some wheelchair users say more needs to be done to improve access.

The new elevators were unveiled Monday morning at the Lionel-Groulx and Berri-UQAM stations. The stations on the orange line are the first of five metro stations on the island of Montreal to be outfitted with elevators.

Read more ....

My Comment: These elevators cost a fortune to install .... and will cost a fortune to maintain. What a waste of money. We have already spent an enormous amount of money to build a fleet of buses to accommodate people who are disabled .... and now we are doing this?

The needs of the many must always be prioritized with the needs of the very few .... especially if their needs are already being met. I priority should be improving the service (especially to the West Island), keeping fares down, and regular maintenance and cleaning.

I am regular user of the metro. The day that I see an elevator being used by a disabled person .... I will post a remark in this blog acknowledging its use. But if I was a betting man, I doubt that I will see anyone using the elevators in the foreseeable future.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Actually I disagree with you. I think it's a very good investment. The fact that you never saw a disabled person in metro is easy to explain: it was not adapted to their needs. Hopefully now everyone will have equal access to metro in Montreal. And hopefully now people won't stare at women with strollers like they have two heads and five arms.
Ciao.