BY Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

smartinez@statenews.com

More than 500 feet — that is the distance that customers of Indian Trails and the Michigan Flyer are walking from the ground transportation center to closest door of the Detroit Metro Airport.

For some students, the change may only represent a small inconvenience. But for less able-bodied travelers, the move has become a point of contention.

The charter buses were moved from the international arrivals site to the ground transportation center on Sept. 22, according to Detroit Metro Public Affairs Director Michael Conway.

“In most terminals, all ground transportation goes to the ground transportations centers because that is where the peak of our customers are waiting,” Conway said. “It’s the safest environment to load and unload.”

In the former location, charter buses would have to wait for other vehicles to move, in order for them to park in the closest lane of the McNamara terminal. The international arrivals section was getting too congested, Conway said.

Associated Students of Michigan State University participated in the conversation about the decision made by the airport.

International students traveling through the Detroit airport will have to prepare for more walking with their luggage, specifically when moving in and out of Michigan.

MSU’s International Students Association Director of Public Relations Naif Alyami said the reason why students use the public transportation from East Lansing to the airport is because of the accessibility.

“It’s a good way to get to East Lansing and is accessible in money,” Alyami said. “I think most of the international students use the Michigan Flyer.”

Alyami said the former location was very accessible for the public. The new one can bring difficulties, he said.

Conway said the only reason for the relocation is to create a safer environment.

“We don’t have other motivation other than we want our customers to be as safe as possible,” Conway said.

But not everyone agrees with the safety aspect.

Michigan Flyer sent an email to all their customers on Sept. 18 urging them to ask local officials to reconsider the relocation. The email expressed safety concerns.

According to a diagram sent by the Vice President of Michigan Flyer Ody Norkin, the new setup for charter buses creates barriers for customers when unloading and loading the buses.

“It’s unheard in the transportation industry to load and unload people in what we call ‘between parallel’ parked vehicles,” Norkin said. “To me it’s more dangerous, especially for people with disabilities.”

Karla Hudson , a blind East Lansing resident, expressed her concern with the new relocation through a lawsuit filed against the Wayne County Airport Authority.

“It happens that my husband and I are both blind and we travel with our children,” Hudson said. “When we heard they were going to move the current location, we thought about the struggles for us personally and of other individuals with disabilities.”

Hudson filed the lawsuit in conjunction with Michael Harris, the executive director of Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America.

“A person who is blind, when there is a lot of noise, it’s chaotic,” Hudson said. “You are trying to manage luggage, and in my situation, children, and not being able to hear because there are charter buses, shuttles.”

Hudson said the officials at Detroit Metro do not fully understand the hardships that people with disabilities go through when traveling.

“They think that persons with disabilities don’t travel independently, they think someone is always with us, which is a very untrue statement,” Hudson said. “Individuals with disabilities do travel alone.”

According to an expert report by disability access advocate Gary Talbot, which was submitted to the court Monday, Detroit Metro violated several sections of the American with Disabilities Act, such as portions that specifically suggest waiting areas, security checkpoints and ramps should be a short distance from the initial point of the passengers.

“The safety of passengers is at stake here,” the attorney for the plaintiffs Jason Turkish said. “This lawsuit will make Detroit Metro Airport more accessible.”