Conference explores transit for disabled

A three-day conference focused on transit accessibility issues came to a close on Thursday after participants examined new ways to address challenges faced by less mobile Utahns.

The event, organized by the Utah Transit Authority, brought more than 60 stakeholders from government, human services, transportation activist organizations and disabled riders advocacy groups to discuss their quest to provide "community transportation for all."

UTA general manager John Inglish said the conference was patterned after previous UTA-sponsored, issue-focused gatherings using a "future search" model that his agency has found successful.

"Out of this will come ... not a solution, but a group of people with an understanding of the issues, and what they can do to address those issues," Inglish said. "They will leave here with a commitment to do that."

Bengt Lindstrom, a co-owner of the Swedish consulting group Ander & Lindstrom and a specialist in the "future search" conference technique, was in attendance as an organizer. He said part of the challenge of creating a productive gathering was getting the right people together.

"The scope of the (accessibility) problem is too big to be covered by a single conference," Lindstrom said. "To be effective, you need to have the right people in the room."

To this end, participants were chosen by a steering committee, whom Inglish said sought voices from as many areas concerned with accessibility as they could think of.

"This is not a public hearing," Inglish said. "It's a very structured process that involves activists, community leaders, state agencies ... people who are in a position to do things to enact change."

One of those issues is handling the needs of transit-dependent people who reside outside of the transit-heavy urban core of Salt Lake City.

Inglish noted that UTA has a federal obligation to meet the needs of disabled riders and its programs meet and go beyond those requisites. Still, the booming population growth in the state has provided constant transit challenges and areas that are underserved, particularly for those with special needs.

"We're getting into a situation now with sprawl that gaps are being created where UTA doesn't have specific assigned responsibility," Inglish said. "A good example of this is transportation for the disabled in rural areas."