People with Disabilities Should Have Equal Access

People with disabilities should have equal access

When it comes to transit, I have the unique perspective of growing up in Central Indiana, moving to a city with robust public transit and then moving to downtown Indianapolis. And that perspective has driven me to support the transit referendum – because transit as it now exists in Central Indiana is virtually useless to me.

I want to see the transit referendum pass for a variety of reasons, but, in particular, so that people with disabilities – like me –can have the same access and opportunities as everyone else.

After graduating from Pendleton Heights High School, I moved to Phoenix for seven years to attend Arizona StateUniversity. After graduating with a double major in global and justice studies, I worked for Teach for America in an inner-city Phoenix school.

Despite the fact that I use a wheelchair and for two years didn’t own a car, in my seven years in Phoenix, I was completely independent. I was like every other young person. During college, I rode the light rail to my gym to work out and go to soccer practice. As a young professional, I used transit occasionally, especially when I needed to get to the airport, including for mission trips in Uganda and Mexico. In short, I experienced the freedom of getting around without relying on others.

Fast forward to a few months ago when I moved back to Indiana to attend law school. While I’d considered ASU, I chose IUPUI because I wanted to be closer to family and because I was impressed during the campus tour, which was conducted by a person with a disability using a power chair like me.

I knew that the lack of public transportation was a huge downfall when comparing Indy to Phoenix, but I ended up finding an apartment close to the law school, which makes getting to and from campus manageable.

Still, in Indy, I use my car a lot morethan I ever did in Phoenix, even though driving takes a toll on me physically. If I want to go to the airport, I have to call my mom for a ride or call a cab and hope that it’s accessible. (To go to the airport in Phoenix, I used light rail).

My concern isn’t just about me. My brother also uses a wheelchair, and he also graduated from ASU and moved back to Indy. But he doesn’t drive. As a result, he has to rely on our mom to drive him to classes at UIndy, where he’s working on an MBA.

And it’s not just about my family. People all across Central Indiana – people with disabilities, older people, people with any range of obstacles – face these same problems. In short, our transit system fails them. It is at times serviceable. It is at times manageable. But, even in those times, it does not do what it should do: Make the community equally accessible to one and all.

I know that accessibility – and the independence that comes with it – is possible for people with disabilities because I have experienced it for myself. That’s why I know that, in hoping for an improved transit system in Indy, I’m not dreaming of something impossible. I’m dreaming of something that is already a reality in other places and something that, therefore, can, and should, be a reality here.

Katie Dickey, law student