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Almost since the inception of the Village Shuttle service for the Creekside and Mountain View routes, riders have only had to walk out their door to get picked up. But things have changed.
“Due to these difficult economic times, the Town has had to make cuts in order to achieve a balanced budget. During this process, the Transportation Department was not spared from making cuts to our service,” said the flyer that was put on the door of all the residents in the two employee housing enclaves.
To save money, the Creekside and Mountain View routes were combined and the shuttles no longer drove through the complexes, but only made shared stops on Brush Creek Road.
The frequency of service during high season remains the same, with three stops per hour, 20 minutes apart, running from 7:10 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. It's augmented by six extra stops by the Route #4 bus going to the Mall.
The new service schedule requires that the residents walk a further distance to get to the bus stop, but for the town's physically fit, working population, this is not a great strain, only an inconvenience.
For a few disabled residents, though, this change has impacted their lives greatly.
Born blind, Pat Logan from Amity, Penn., was given a chance to see the world, her husband and two sons when she was 37 years old through the miracle of a new medical breakthrough surgery. Yet Pat is still legally blind.
After her children grew up and moved to Denver, Logan found her way to Snowmass Village to begin a new life on her own. For many years she worked at the now-closed Snowmass Village Photo and Book Shoppe and also provided daycare for Village children.
A few years ago, her vision began to deteriorate with no possible chance of amelioration. She is going back into the darkness again.
While living in Snowmass Village, she has always found lodging that was close to the shuttle service. Logan was especially glad to get the call from Terri Everest, assistant housing director, telling her that a unit was available at Mountain View right outside the bus stop and without the stairs that had become her nemesis at her Brush Creek apartment on the Creekside shuttle route.
Totally dependent on the local bus service for transportation, Logan now had to plan her day in a new way. Walking to the Brush Creek Road bus stops is often a dangerous proposition, especially in the winter. Spontaneity is no longer an option.
For Logan and the other disabled riders in the Village, paratransit is available under the Americans with Disabilities Act. They must call in two hours in advance to schedule a trip, or set of trips, for that day during regular bus service and after that they can call High Mountain Taxi, which also offers Dial-a-Ride service during off hours. Requests for wheelchair rides will be accommodated through the Village Shuttle, because they have a wheelchair lift and High Mountain doesn't.
Logan has had bad experiences with both, but the town's transportation manager David Peckler has records to show that these were anomalies. He wants people who are having problems with the service to report it to the transportation department at 923-2543.
Snowmass Councilman Arnie Mordkin is not happy with the new impacts to Logan, his former employee. He owned the Snowmass Mall bookstore and had also hired Logan to be the childcare provider for his daughter for many years. He voiced his opinion at a recent council meeting along with Councilwoman Markey Butler.
“It bothers me that the people who need the ride the most have to wait for extended periods of time. That's the problem. The able-bodied riders don't have to call in two hours in advance, they have regular scheduled service,” said Mordkin.
He feels this is a form of discrimination and it makes the disabled second-class citizens.
On the other side, Peckler said he believes that he is following the ADA rules to a “T,” even going beyond its guidelines and offering the two-hour call-in service, where most places have a 24-hour policy. Constrained by financial considerations, he feels he's doing the best he can.
In a way, this problem has come down to a debate over the interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. While Peckler is working hard to conform to the letter of that law, Mordkin wants to conform to the spirit of the law.
Meanwhile and despite the good intentions, Pat Logan feels the new rules of the road have negatively impacted her life and her sense of independence.
Ann Larson's e-mail address is alarsonco@earthlink.net
“Due to these difficult economic times, the Town has had to make cuts in order to achieve a balanced budget. During this process, the Transportation Department was not spared from making cuts to our service,” said the flyer that was put on the door of all the residents in the two employee housing enclaves.
To save money, the Creekside and Mountain View routes were combined and the shuttles no longer drove through the complexes, but only made shared stops on Brush Creek Road.
The frequency of service during high season remains the same, with three stops per hour, 20 minutes apart, running from 7:10 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. It's augmented by six extra stops by the Route #4 bus going to the Mall.
The new service schedule requires that the residents walk a further distance to get to the bus stop, but for the town's physically fit, working population, this is not a great strain, only an inconvenience.
For a few disabled residents, though, this change has impacted their lives greatly.
Born blind, Pat Logan from Amity, Penn., was given a chance to see the world, her husband and two sons when she was 37 years old through the miracle of a new medical breakthrough surgery. Yet Pat is still legally blind.
After her children grew up and moved to Denver, Logan found her way to Snowmass Village to begin a new life on her own. For many years she worked at the now-closed Snowmass Village Photo and Book Shoppe and also provided daycare for Village children.
A few years ago, her vision began to deteriorate with no possible chance of amelioration. She is going back into the darkness again.
While living in Snowmass Village, she has always found lodging that was close to the shuttle service. Logan was especially glad to get the call from Terri Everest, assistant housing director, telling her that a unit was available at Mountain View right outside the bus stop and without the stairs that had become her nemesis at her Brush Creek apartment on the Creekside shuttle route.
Totally dependent on the local bus service for transportation, Logan now had to plan her day in a new way. Walking to the Brush Creek Road bus stops is often a dangerous proposition, especially in the winter. Spontaneity is no longer an option.
For Logan and the other disabled riders in the Village, paratransit is available under the Americans with Disabilities Act. They must call in two hours in advance to schedule a trip, or set of trips, for that day during regular bus service and after that they can call High Mountain Taxi, which also offers Dial-a-Ride service during off hours. Requests for wheelchair rides will be accommodated through the Village Shuttle, because they have a wheelchair lift and High Mountain doesn't.
Logan has had bad experiences with both, but the town's transportation manager David Peckler has records to show that these were anomalies. He wants people who are having problems with the service to report it to the transportation department at 923-2543.
Snowmass Councilman Arnie Mordkin is not happy with the new impacts to Logan, his former employee. He owned the Snowmass Mall bookstore and had also hired Logan to be the childcare provider for his daughter for many years. He voiced his opinion at a recent council meeting along with Councilwoman Markey Butler.
“It bothers me that the people who need the ride the most have to wait for extended periods of time. That's the problem. The able-bodied riders don't have to call in two hours in advance, they have regular scheduled service,” said Mordkin.
He feels this is a form of discrimination and it makes the disabled second-class citizens.
On the other side, Peckler said he believes that he is following the ADA rules to a “T,” even going beyond its guidelines and offering the two-hour call-in service, where most places have a 24-hour policy. Constrained by financial considerations, he feels he's doing the best he can.
In a way, this problem has come down to a debate over the interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. While Peckler is working hard to conform to the letter of that law, Mordkin wants to conform to the spirit of the law.
Meanwhile and despite the good intentions, Pat Logan feels the new rules of the road have negatively impacted her life and her sense of independence.
Ann Larson's e-mail address is alarsonco@earthlink.net
