Open letter to SunRail Project Manager Tawny Olore
Dear Ms. Olore,
Were SunRail stations designed for the comfort of real
people, or for the convenience of engineers? Certainly rider convenience and
safety were not the paramount concerns.
Tawny Olore |
One of the worst examples of the passenger-UNfriendly
design can be found in the SunRail station at Church Street in downtown Orlando
-- ironically the busiest station during the morning and evening commuter rush
hours.
Let’s not even talk about the station’s confusing
configuration where the northbound platform is at Church Street and the
southbound platform is a block away at South Street. Let’s instead focus our
attention today on the fact that riders can’t use cash to buy a ticket on the
southbound platform.
Show up on the southbound platform hoping to catch a train
to Orlando Health or Orlando International Airport and all you have is cash in
your pocket and you’re out of luck because both ticket vending machines only
accept credit or debit cards. There isn’t even a sign telling you that you can
buy a ticket with cash on the northbound platform.
Maybe there’s no sign because getting to the northbound
platform poses a huge problem. Following the pedestrian crossing signs you have
to walk the equivalent of four (4) city blocks, cross busy South Street and
active railroad tracks to use the cash machine.
Southbound machines |
As a SunRail official you don’t have to buy a ticket, but
for your convenience you can click
here
to see a video of the path riders with cash have to follow. (By the way, it’s
nearly a 10-minute walk to and from the cash machine.)
You’re an experienced engineer, we’re not. But common sense
says the easiest solution is to add a cash ticket machine to the southbound
platform. We’ve raised this issue before with your public relations staff, and
they give us fluff instead of real concern about the safety and convenience of
southbound riders who need to buy tickets with cash.
Please don’t study this to death. We showed you the problem,
we’re counting on you to act with all deliberate speed and address this
situation by installing a cash machine on the southbound platform at Church
Street.
Sincerely,
SunRail riders
No comments:
Post a Comment