The two plaintiffs in legal action that arised after Wayne County Airport Authority's decision to move the pick-up and drop-off location of the Michigan Flyer, AirRide and the SMART bus to the south end of the Ground Transportation Center of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport, are back in court.
Blind East Lansing resident Karla Hudson and Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America CEO Michael Harris filed motion on Feb. 3 to enforce the terms of the settlement.
According to the motion, Wayne County Airport Authority has failed to heat the bus shelters, control the climate in the waiting areas of the Ground Transportation Center and modify a slope in a pedestrian walkway within the Ground Transportation Center that would make mobility for people with disabilities easier.
"In my perspective they left persons with disabilities without a choice," Hudson said. "It's very limiting for people to be self-sufficient."
Hudson said Wayne County Airport Authority said no public transportation could use Door 402 of the Ground Transportation Center waiting area — the area directly outside Door 402 is striped as a no-parking and no-loading zone.
The motion, however, claims the airport allegedly have let other public transportation companies use that area to load and unload passengers.
Melissa Nyman, one of the attorneys of Hudson and Harris, said Wayne County Airport Authority were emphatic the area in outside Door 402 was not going to be used to load and unload busses — the area in dispute is closer to the waiting area.
"Almost days after the settlement, they started to allowed people through that door," Nyman said. "No one should be able to go there, they are no-loading zones for a reason."
When reached for comment, Detroit Metropolitan Airpot public affairs director Michael Conway said in an email the "Airport Authority is in full compliance with the settlement agreement and will be submitting to the court our response to the plaintiffs motion."
Wayne County Airport Authority's announcement on decision of moving the locations created initially controversy — the charter buses were moved from the international arrivals site to the ground transportation center on Sept. 22.
On Sept. 19, Hudson and Harris filed a lawsuit in conjunction.
According to an expert report by disability access advocate Gary Talbot, which was submitted to to court on September 2014, 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.
On Oct. 16, a settlement was reached between the Wayne County Airport Authority and the plaintiffs.
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