FOG BLOG RIDICULOG: BUS STOP BACK TO EDGE OF LANCASTER PARKING LOT, ANGERS SENIORS , DISABLED!

Mall's move of bus stop to more distant spot angers seniors, people with disabilities.......City of Saint John says it's working with Lancaster Mall owner on accessibility......The City of Saint John says it will work with Lancaster Mall on the accessibility problems created when the mall moved a bus stop relied on by people with disabilities to a more distant spot to satisfy a new tenant, a gym.

The change in location has provoked people who use the bus to demand the city build more accessibility requirements into the rules for private property and transit developments.

"They want people to ride their bus, but they're doing everything backward," said Martine Moris, a frequent user of Saint John Transit.

Strathallen, the mall operator, moved the bus stop Nov. 4 from in front of a mall entrance to a place closer to the front of the parking lot. .......You would think people going to a gym could do the few extra steps if they're going to work out anyhow.- Shelley Petit, New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities

Five days later, after a negative reaction from transit users, the city said it would "work with the Lancaster Mall property owner to ensure that their recently relocated bus stop meets standards for public accessibility."

The new shelter is mostly exposed to the elements, with a walking width that might not accommodate all walking or transportation aids, such as wheelchairs.......Moris, who is visually impaired, is one of many seniors who frequent the mall for grocery shopping, banking and other errands.

She said she was never alerted about the change in the bus stop until it happened, and feels the change is discouraging others from using the service.

"They're not gonna get any people like that."

A change in tenant

Nathalie Logan, communications officer with the City of Saint John, said the bus stop was moved "to meet the lease requirements" of a new tenant.

According to the Lancaster Mall website, the new tenant is Planet Fitness, a detail that made the move of the bus stop even more perplexing to the New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities.

"I don't quite get why they had to move a bus stop to accommodate people going to a gym," said coalition chair Shelley Petit. "You would think people going to a gym could do the few extra steps if they're going to work out anyhow.

"Whereas people who are visually impaired, mobility impaired those extra two, three minutes for a walk can be a long way."

The mall owner, Strathallen, was contacted multiple times for comment but did not respond.

RECENTLY , AN ADDITIONAL SEGMENT OF CONCRETE WAS ADDED BEHIND THE BUS SHELTER THAT CONTINUES NOT TO HAVE PLEXIGLAS TO KEEP THE ELIMENTS OUT, HOPEFULLY THIS ADDITION OF CONCRETE WILL ACCOMODATE A BETTER BUS SHELTER BUT DOES NOT ADDRESS THE LONG WALK FROM THERE TO THE MALL ESPECIALLY IN BAD AND COLD WEATHER!! .....CREDIT.....NEWS STORY.....INTERNET