Hello everyone,
My name is Armando Vias, and I’m starting this petition in hopes to making change in the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, and across Houston County.
I’m a passionate community advocate who isn’t afraid of change. The reason that I started this petition is because I believe that we have a lack of accessible options in Warner Robins and Houston County for people who are blind and/or have other disabilities.
For example, we, as blind and disabled citizens of Warner Robins and all of Houston County don’t have accessible, affordable, and reliable public transportation services. We have to rely on Uber/Lyft, in which it can get pretty expensive due to inflation, especially if we decide to go to one of the colleges, or if we commute to work in the area or in another city, such as Macon, go out to events that are happening in the county, and so on. Some of us rely on family members or friends/partners to take us to where we want to go.
I urge you to do the following:
- Create a Disabled Citizens Committee: This Committee should consist of people who have a history working with people with disabilities or have disabilities themselves. These members can be from Centers For Independent Living (CILS) from across the states. As for recruiting candidates who are blind to the committee, I recommend
members of the National Federation of The Blind of Georgia (NFBGA).
Unfortunately,
over 70% of blind adults are unemployed, according to the National Federation of The Blind.- Fix all local government websites with accessibility improvements in mind: I’ll be happy to collaborate on helping the city/county make all websites accessible. Blind people use screen-reading software in order to operate their devices.
- Revamp the bus system: Warner Robins is a city with 80,000 people and growing, and Houston County has a population of about 167,000 people. As an expanding community, we need to ensure that the public transportation system is up to date with today’s standards. This means adding buses to the revamped system, adding the ability for residents to use door-to-door Paratransit services, the ability to purchase tickets/passes online (more on this below), and the ability to purchase a residential pass for citizens who live in Houston County. This is not just for citizens of Warner Robins. This is for all citizens who live in Parry, Centerville, and also parts of Byron. For citizens who work in Macon, we can make an agreement with the Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority to take citizens to their workplaces in Macon. Having this arrangement will save people sometime of not having to transfer buses/paratransit vans to another transit authority.
- Add bus stops to frequent locations, and also locations of worship, such as churches that blind/disabled citizens frequently go to. For example, we need to add a bus stop on the side of Highway 41, on Watson where most people get groceries (Kroger), the Houston County Mall, the Houston Medical Center, and even Robins Air Force Base since Robins Air Force Base is one of the largest employers.
- Make ordering bus passes accessible via an online portal/App: Some disabled citizens, who are shy, may not feel comfortable calling dispatch for a public transportation service. Hence, that’s why we need to create a portal/app to help those who are shy to get their bus tickets. For example, in Valdossta, Georgia, they have a service, called
Valdosta On Demand, where someone can download an app to get access to affordable rides all across Valdosta. That way, if we implement a similar service, they can pay online via a website, or via a smartphone app using Apple Pay, Google Pay, or debit/credit cards, making it easier for folks at dispatch from having the volume of calls raised too high. Yes, we can make a customer service line, but as a person who believes in online technology, everything is done online now, such as email, or even text messages!- Improve street crossings with audible tones or talking signals when the signal changes: Accessible Pedestrian Signals (also known as APS), is a signal that speaks and lets the pedestrian know with audible sounding tones to help them look for the intersection and to cross the street safely. These signals can be activated by pressing a button, prompting the pedestrian to wait to cross. Then, when the walk sign is on, a sound or a custom-recorded message letting them know to cross will be spoken. This would be beneficial when blind and other citizens/tourists and even children cross the street, especially if there is a lot of traffic on the road. It also helps improve pedestrian safety. You can find one of these street crossings in Augusta Georgia, on Broad Street. Also, cities such as Austin, Texas has one of these accessible pedestrian signals. I am pleased to say that we are making progress in this area, but there is still a long way to go.
I understand that it costs a lot of money, but this should get the city/county on the right foot. I am not doing this for me. I am doing this for every citizen who needs this in the city/county.
Imagine if you wake up one morning to find that your vehicle broke down, your license is suspended, or you don’t have a car in general to get around, and you have to spend hundreds of dollars on Uber/Lyft. That’s also why we need access to public transportation. That way, citizens can still go to work or be out in the community like anybody else by using public transit instead of being isolated at home.
I’ll be happy to collaborate with all of the City Council on making this happen for everyone. I believe that this will be an all-party effort. If you believe that the city/county should become accessible for all disabled citizens, and even citizens who can’t drive due to no driver’s license, please take action by signing my petition. The more signatures we get, the more likely that the leaders will listen to us.
If you have any questions, or if you would like to send me some ideas to add to this petition, you may email me directly at my email address:
info@armandovias.com
I’ll be happy to respond to your suggestions, feedback, or your question(s)as best as I can.Thank you.
Sincerely,
Armando Vias
Community Advocate
Go To The Petition: Equal Access For All In Warner Robins/Houston County, Georgia