Torrance Protest : Handicapped Want Way to Board Buses

A group of wheelchair-bound activists are using confrontation tactics to press demands that Torrance officials make the city’s entire bus system accessible to the disabled.

The group, known as American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT), accuses Torrance Transit of violating state law, which requires transit systems to be accessible. City officials deny the charge.

But leaders of the group complained at a demonstration and public meetings this week that only two of nine Torrance bus routes are designated for use by the disabled. And disabled people cannot ride on those because most Torrance Transit buses have broken hydraulic lifts and lack the straps needed to tie down wheelchairs.

Group members Diane Coleman and Bill Bolte told the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission on Wednesday that state and local transit funds for Torrance should be cut off until the city complies with the law. The commission took no action.

On Tuesday night, two days after a demonstration by wheelchair-bound people at the Del Amo Fashion Center and the Torrance bus yard, Coleman and Bolte took their case to the Torrance City Council.

Coleman, a wheelchair-bound attorney who works for the state Department of Corporations in Los Angeles, complained that Torrance’s bus system is “one of the worst that I’ve heard about in this county.”

Arguing that the city is discriminatory, Coleman and four others demanded that the City Council make sure all bus lifts are working, are maintained properly and that all bus routes are accessible to the disabled. Coleman also said the city should install curb ramps so the disabled can use all of the city’s bus stops and transit terminals.

After hearing the group’s complaints, Torrance City Manager LeRoy Jackson agreed to investigate the situation and make a report to the council at an unspecified date.

This drew more criticism from Coleman, who called the response “noncommittal. In essence, they said they would study the problem,” she said.

Earlier, Sue Ridenour of La Crescenta, who uses a wheelchair, complained that Torrance’s separate Dial-A-Lift service is too restrictive, and not available on nights and Sundays. It provides door-to-door service by appointment for approved activities.

Olga Thorington, a longtime Torrance resident and past president of the South Bay chapter of California Assn. of the Physically Handicapped, said the lifts don’t work because of poor maintenance. “You just can’t put lifts on buses and forget about them,” she said.

Bolte, a Westchester resident, told council members that Torrance has “a totally inaccessible, segregated bus system” that discriminates against the disabled.

But Transportation Director Arthur Horkay defended the bus system and insisted that Torrance meets all state and federal standards. Horkay conceded that bus “lifts are troublesome and require a lot of repair,” but he denied the group’s charge that the city’s buses are not accessible.

He said there is “very little demand” for handicapped service on Torrance’s fixed bus routes and noted that the city spends about $350,000 a year for the Dial-A-Lift system.

Transit Manager Ray Schmidt echoed the complaint of council members that the city had received no calls, letters or complaints before Sunday’s demonstration.

Torrance Mayor Katy Geissert scolded the demonstrators for not coming to the council with their grievances before staging the demonstration.