Rights of Passage

 Editor's Note: Read the story of a busy professional
-- in her own words -- who has become an advocate for accessibility. 
An engineer, she noticed the improper curb cuts in her neighborhood;
she also noticed the removal of
some curb cuts where a friend and neighbor rode his wheelchair.   After
a couple of years of patient communication with the village officials,
she finally got mad!  The outcome was a recent village vote to stop the
village’s practice of removing curb cuts.  Congratulations to these
stalwart citizens.  Read on!

Barrier Curb and Sidewalk installed under Village Program.

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act is only as good as the government agencies charged with shaping the built environment to accommodate people with disabilities or the advocates who hound them to do so.  I was reluctant to add ADA advocate to my job description, but my community pushed me too far. 

In the summer of 2006 I noticed that the Village of Arlington Heights was taking out handicap ramps.  This was usually at intersections where there was sidewalk on one side of the street but not on the other.  They were taking out the legs of the sidewalk pointing towards the area with no sidewalks, but were leaving the perpendicular legs and ramps in place.  The ramps removed were usually replaced with barrier curbs and grass but sometimes they were replaced with barrier curbs and sidewalk.  Pedestrians and people using wheel chairs or pushing strollers could still get to where they were going using the perpendicular ramps left in place.  In some locations, however, they took out ramps when there was a sidewalk across the street and even when removing the ramp created a significant detour.  One detour was over 600 feet long. 

Barrier curb and grass installed under Village Program.

This made me mad, but my parents were sick, I was visiting colleges with my son, my job was hectic, and I did not need to add a battle to my list.  Until, one day I came across an intersection on Bristol Lane where the Village was repaving a street.  It appeared that they were leaving a barrier curb in place.  There was no perpendicular curb so this rendered the whole length of sidewalk unusable for people using wheel chairs.  I called the Engineering Department and talked to the Engineer in charge of the job. She said this was not an oversight by the contractor, as I had assumed.  She said the Village would not take out the barrier curb because there was no sidewalk across the street.  I was shocked and said something like “Are you kidding? You think it is reasonable to ask a person in a wheel chair to wheel in the street an extra 90 feet, parallel to a public sidewalk?  That is a violation of ADA.”  She assured me she was not kidding. This was Village policy.

An advocate was born.  I first tried quiet diplomacy.   I contacted a Village Trustee I knew. I explained the story then delivered a follow up letter, with pictures, explaining this was both stupid and illegal.  She did not get back to me or answer my email and phone queries.

Barrier curb left in place under the Village Program

I toured the town with a neighbor who uses a wheel chair.  He immediately understood the potential impact of this policy.  He lives on a cul-de-sac with no sidewalks that is connected to a sidewalk by a short, ramped walk from the street.  If the Village removed his walk, his regular trips to a neighborhood store would require an additional half mile of travel.  We discussed strategy and committed to write and ask the Village to stop this ridiculous policy.  Because of coordination issues and the business of life, the letter was not sent until July of 2007. 

Two months later we received a response detailing why the Village planned to keep removing sidewalks and ramps in town. They had decided that some sidewalks in the public right of way were not part of an accessible path, based on something in an ADAAG manual. 

Sidewalk ramp improperly installed in the Village in 2008.

My mother died, my father in law died, my neighbor’s father died and time marched on.  In my spare time I contacted the US Access Board who told me to talk to the Department of Justice (DOJ) because Title II states that when a sidewalk crosses a curb, a curb ramp is required.  The DOJ said we should file a complaint, adding that the Village could not make the public right of way less accessible under Section 35.133.  The Illinois Attorney General’s office told me my neighbor should file a complaint and that it would receive high priority because the village was systematically reducing access.  My neighbor was convinced that we could reason with the Village so no complaint was filed.  We just kept plugging away. We contacted accessibility support groups and gathered information that we faxed to the Village.  We made calls, we made noise, but we made no progress with staff. 

We wrote the mayor a 16 page letter, including attachments, in February of 2008.  She sent back a note telling us to meet with staff.  So we met with staff on April 3, 2008.  We were told that the Village was definitely going to take out the ramp my neighbor used regularly as well as the whole sidewalk on Bristol that had prompted my call in 2006 and every other ramp in town meeting their criteria because “blind people might wander into a neighborhood without sidewalks.” 

April 4th I started searching for information on the conflict between people with visual impairments and people using wheel chairs.   An organization that supports mobility for people with visual impairments told me the Village actions were illegal.  Detectable warnings, required on all new ramps after 2001, alerted such people that they were leaving a safe place.  

I contacted another support organization who offered to help.  We waited while they searched for an attorney to handle our case. Time passed. My father died.  

After President Obama was elected, I read that he had asked the Access Board to hold off on the launch of their revised regulations until his team had an opportunity to review the proposed changes.  So I wrote the Access Board and asked if they could make sure the new regulations could not be used to justify the removal of ramps and sidewalks.  The coordinator of research for the Access Board assured me that Arlington Heights “had completely misunderstood everything.”  The ADAAG manual cited was a tool to help cities meet the ADA requirements, but it was not the law. She said the law required a ramp everywhere a sidewalk met a street and that it was “inconceivable” that a town would actually remove the sidewalk to get around that obligation. She said the town could not reduce access and suggested that taking out ramps like the one my neighbor uses would be “clearly punitive.”  Again, she suggested I contact the DOJ. 

My neighbor and I wrote one last letter to the Village Manager, copying the Board of Trustees and the candidates challenging the incumbents.  This letter included an email from the Access Board and one from the support organization for people with visual impairments, both backing our position. This got the attention of the Board and one Trustee asked the Manager to bring this issue to the Board for Discussion.    

We then asked for and got a moratorium on the removal of any ramps until that meeting was held.  At this meeting, held May 11th, the Village staff continued to argue for the removal of ramps and sidewalks to limit the liability of the Village.  Fortunately the Village Board listened to reason and voted to stop taking out ramps 8-0. The process lasted much longer than my patience.  But it was worth it. 

This should be the end of the story, but there are always messy details in a tale this long.  The Village has not promised to replace the barrier curbs installed under this program.  They have not promised to replace the barrier curbs they left in place under this program.  And they have not even started to talk about the numerous ramps installed in town that do not meet ADA specifications, much less promise to institute a Quality Assurance Program to insure new ramps are built in accordance with the law.  There is more work to be done. 

Please join me. Become an advocate and speak up for accessibility.  Report bad ramps and sidewalks as soon as you find them.  Email or call the city immediately or you will find your city hiding behind a statute of limitations.  Then all of us will live with these bad ramps and barrier curbs for ages.  Keep a record of your contacts.  If you don’t get a positive response in a reasonable time period, step up your program. Call the Illinois Attorney General’s office, or call a lawyer.  You don’t have to fight the kind of battle we fought alone.  We can change the world, together. 

Further reading:

ADA Anniversary Packet — DBTAC - Great Lakes ADA Center

ADA Home Page - Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Illinois Attorney General - Defending Your Rights

Today I received an article from Justice For All, a national advocate for disability rights, from the Boston Globe about the new stimulus package and the rush to spend all that cash on shovel-ready projects. We need those public works projects, but at what price? http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/06/advoc...

You can reach Justice For All at jfa@aapd.org.

Although this article refers to events in Massachusetts, you can bet the same dynamics are at play in every one of the states.  I am forwarding this article to my advocate friends as fair warning that it can happen in their community or state, too.  Please get involved in the issue, if possible: attend hearings, ask questions, keep your eyes open at construction sites, pass the word to other advocates, spread the news of inaccessible new construction.  

Please help enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act with your vigilant eyes because your state/local government will be too busy spending the moneys to pay attention to the finer details of how it’s being spent.  If you do not know what to do when you think you see an infraction, let us know so we can talk about it and help you get in touch with the appropriate authorities.  Thanks!

As we read the devastating
unemployment statistics brought on by this recession we become fearful of losing our jobs.  With an 8% unemployment rates most people are justified at the daunting task of finding work. in.  A resume with the right key words, an outgoing personality, a positive attitude, a strong social network, and of course an
outstanding skill set arer table stakes in today’s in any job search.

For persons with a disability,
finding a job is more than just a challenge, it can be a dream out of reach. As I was doing research for TechWorks an internship program of Chicago’s students with disabilities interested in technology, I learned how unlikely it is that a person with a disability will find a job independently. In 2007, Cornell University reported that
only 37.7% of people with disabilities are employed.  

One foundation that is
trying to find meaningful work for persons with disabilities is the Neumann Association. Its Neu-to-U program which lists items on Ebay is an innovative
way of raising money for its association while providing job opportunities for people with disabilities.  Neu-to-U is staffed completely by Chicago-area residents with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, or both.

Five Neu-to-U employees are
responsible for conducting research, taking product photos for the website, and packaging and shipping all merchandise.  In the past year, Neu-to-U has sold close to 2,000 items and has maintained a 100 percent Ebay customer satisfaction rating. The Neumann Association is currently training more employees to work for Neu-to-U.  After seeing the eBay business’ exponential
growth, the non-profit is hoping to double its workforce by 2010.  You can find out more about the Neu-to-U program at http://stores.ebay.com/Neu-to-U. 

Comedians in New York are nastily targeting Governor Paterson’s blindness (Happily, his racial status has not been similarly commented upon.).  In the New York Times on Friday, February 6, Clyde Haberman in his NYC column (“Equal Opportunity to be the Target of Low Blows and Tasteless Jokes”) took exception to the “comedy writers with frat-boy sensibilities”, saying “the level of humor might fairly be described as sophomoric were that not an insult to sophomores.”   The writer also quoted Marcie Roth, executive director of the National Coalition for Disability Rights, as saying skits on Saturday Night Live reflected a “ridiculous, ongoing, permissible bigotry.”  

    We wholly concur!  And, yes, it’s February and Spring is definitely in the air – in Chicago and in New York City – so bullying, a seasonal malady, is on the rise.  It sometimes seems that, when these guys come out of hibernation in the early Spring, they look around for something to complain about besides the weather, like the finger-biting woodchuck.  Of course, they find their targets (like Mayor Bloomberg’s finger) -- anyone they consider to be “different”, especially anyone who does not “look like them”.  We live in difficult times and, apparently, these guys feel better when they “pick on” – read: harass, tease, ridicule, victimize, etc – somebody.  Not just anybody, though.  Is it because they feel victimized by the world?  Is that why their targets are so often people with disabilities whom they consider to be victims?  According to lawyers who deal with this problem, a greater proportion of students with disabilities are bullied and harassed than the rest of the school population.
    I wish each of them could have a real conversation with someone with a disability like my youngest daughter -- a quad who has a Masters degree, works fulltime, owns her own condo on the shores of Lake Michigan, and is (as they might say!) as funny as a busted crutch!  And why, you might ask!  What’s so funny about a crutch, especially a busted one?  Not much, let me tell you!  Having used them, I don’t think crutches are funny, but it is a very prevalent figure of speech.  But my daughter is funny, i.e., humorous.  And so are most folks I know who also have a disability.  They do see the essential humor of life, the absurdity of life, if you will.  Few of them in my experience indulge in bitterness or unkindness or ridicule.  And not one of them in my experience feels victimized by their disability.

    One of the most sickening examples of human misbehavior, to my mind, is the victimization of another human being in any way, for any reason – even if “it’s only in fun”.  Those people who seem to derive satisfaction from stooping to victimize anyone they think is “different” are truly the weakest among us.  How pitiful, how self-demeaning it is to need ego gratification from ridiculing others.  

    The next time you hear someone bullying – even if only verbally, do us all a favor: speak up!  Tell the bully to drop it, stop it, grow up, be a real person.  If you can’t speak up, at least don’t join in – or laugh!  You’ll really feel better as a defender than as an offender.  Try it.  Please don’t join it.

http://www.livescience.com/health/00308-workplace-bully.html
http://www.ancomm.com/code_of_silence/index.html?gclid=COvGsKOC2JgCFQJHx...
http://www.hazelden.org/web/go/olweusparent
http://www.barrington220.org/bullying/frm.asp?type=new

Disability Harassment, by Mark C Weber, Vincent de Paul Professor of Law, DePaul University, Chicago.  A readable reference book with excellent notes, 217 pp.
Published by New York University Press (www.nyupress.org)

It is an uncomfortable question to have to ask before leaving home for
a family evening out – it smells of social exclusion, denied entry, not
being wanted, or not knowing the rules and the odor clings to the
questioner.It is a question that also implies an absence or failure of
control, of decision-making, of social acceptance.  In
truth, though, the question rises from our
empirical knowledge that the built environment is not physically
available to everyone, and that assumptions about physical access can
ruin our plans. Although this question does not present itself to most
people, our family has asked it for over thirty years.

You might assume that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), (http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm) signed into law in July 1990, and its Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) (http://www.adata.org/adaportal/Facility_Access/ADAAG/ADAAG_TOC.html)
which have been evolving ever since, would obviate our question.  Sadly,
although the ADA has established these mandated guidelines or
standards, their enforcement has never been a high priority beyond the
disability and elderly communities (Read, little to no federal funding
for oversight. Sound familiar?).

A newer way
of thinking about equal access, universal design (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_design)
was developed by a group headed by Ron Mace at the Univ. of NC.
(http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/).  Not
restricted to the physical environment as is accessible design,
universal design expands the concept of nvironmental access and applies
its seven design principles to a variety of other venues (http://www.universaldesign.org/)
with a particular emphasis on usability. 
It supersedes the prescribed physical, visual and auditory
environmental considerations of the ADA by applying its own principles
to the environment, to products and to communications. (http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/instruction.html)
 

It’s a win-win situation, a universal benefit that improves many aspects of our daily lives. (http://www.cast.org/research/udl/index.html,
http://www.udeducation.org/, http://www.aarp.org/families/home_design/)

Read about it, share your ideas, understand how it improves
your life, recognize it the next time it crosses your path!

The other day we received an invitation from a friend whose college daughter uses a wheelchair to join them in a “day of service” in Evanston to clear the snow from curb cuts.  Inadvertently -- we would like to assume -- the drivers of snow plows often obscure (or sometimes cover completely) the curb cuts at corners (and other places) that enable people using wheelchairs to move about their neighborhoods.  Admittedly in our urban environment, there is often little space – other than cars – to put the white stuff!  BUT curb cuts are off limits for snow!  

After receiving her request, I emailed it to a long list of folks who, I knew, would like to be reminded.  I was amazed and delighted with their responses!

Well do I remember the Winter of 1959 in New York City (when I still had a car there!) -- not only was the snow piled at every corner up to the second story windows, our cars on the side streets were buried for TWO WEEKS!  At least no one got a ticket.

Today wherever you live you can make a difference for people with mobility limitations by clearing the snow from your local curb cuts.  It might seem to be a small request, but your help can make an enormous difference for folks who cannot do it for themselves.  So, please grab your shovel and take a teenager or neighbor along with you for a fifteen minute good deed.  Be a pal, a good neighbor, a nice friend – clear a curb cut today!   Thank you.

If you did not see the special showing of “Head of the Class” this week on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, you missed one of the finest presentations about education and disability awareness I have ever seen. Based on an actual person’s experiences, the drama revolved around a young boy now an adult who has Tourette’s Syndrome and the agonizing struggles that he and his entire family experienced. 

His troubles began at age six when he developed symptoms of Tourette’s, a neurological disorder in his brain, as he often described it, that caused him to make strange noises and have severe facial and body tics.  And, most important, he could not control them.  Tourette’s syndrome is a permanent disability with no known cure – as yet.

Disability advocates, especially parents, have always recognized the negative effects of harassment, teasing, name-calling and other anti-social behavior toward children with disabilities and the lifelong impact such behavior has on their psyches, on their self-images.  The entire family is affected by a child’s disability – as this play clearly demonstrates; both parents and siblings not only feel the pain of the child victim, but often are victimized themselves by this negative behavior.

And so, I am making a suggestion and a request: If you have the opportunity to view this play, please do.  And please, do anything you can to help erase this anti-social behavior toward people with disabilities.  It is the right thing to do. 

How do you treat a person with a disability?  “Like a person”, according to an old ad campaign. Or as the child in the play said, “Like everybody else.”

(Photo: Jon Farmer / CBS)

The recent success of Paralympians like Egypt's Heba Said Ahmed offer a good moment to recognize Chicago's own.

Photo: NYTimes.com

On October 3rd, The New York Times printed a Saturday Profile of a young Egyptian champion of the Paralympic Games that brought joy to my heart – and tears to my eyes at times. She has brought honor to her country – and herself -- with determination and hard work. While she was in grade school her father, a government worker, carried her to the fifth floor; if he was sick, she did not go to school that day. She did not have a wheelchair until she was in sixth grade – nor physical therapy until she was a teenager; in college she learned to use crutches. Although I have only read about her triumphs, she strikes me as an amazingly positive young woman, fit to be a role model for anyone.

Here are some excerpts from Heba Ahmed’s Saturday Profile by Michael Slackman (You can browse the Times' archive of Paralympic stories here. -Ed.).

"Ms. Heba Ahmed, who had polio as a child, won a gold medal in power lifting during the Paralympic Games in Beijing. She broke a world record in her 181-pound weight class, too, lifting 341 pounds. A few days earlier she was being lauded as an Egyptian Hercules. … It is hard to overstate how different Ms. Ahmed is from many of those around her. It is all about attitude. Egypt is filled with people who face adversity, most often a function of poverty and systemic indifference. It is a class-based society with an unwritten contract that many people believe condemns them to live as they were born, poor and marginalized. There is a pervasive feeling of impotence, a collective belief that fighting back is futile. …

"But Ms. Ahmed never refers to fate; she talks about choices. She does not talk about obstacles; she talks about challenges. …."I think there has to be a bit of struggle in your life," she said. "It strengthens you. It builds character." …

"During the Olympic Games, which preceded the Paralympics in China, Egypt did poorly, earning just one bronze medal. But in the Paralympics, Egypt earned 12 medals, including four golds. 'Face savers,' read the headline on Al Ahram Weekly, an English-language newspaper. It was an extraordinary achievement coming from a country where physical disabilities are largely seen as props for street begging. …'I feel very satisfied with my sports achievements,' Ms. Ahmed said, indicating that she is ready for marriage and the next steps in her drive to defy expectations and build a full life. "I want to have children and raise them well," she said. "I want them to be champions, too." …

"I don’t consider Heba to be handicapped," said Aly Hassan el-Saadani, head coach of the national weight lifting team. … Ms. Ahmed won two African titles. She won a world championship. She won a gold medal during the Paralympics in Athens four years ago, and set a world record in the process. Then she went up a weight class, won a gold in Beijing and set a world record in that weight class, too.…

"In Egypt, crossing the street or getting on the sidewalk for a handicapped person can be a real challenge," Mr. Saadani said. "In other countries there are ramps, there are ways for them to get on buses. None of this is available here. They used to come to practice standing up in the bus because there were no seats for them. They are the best of what we have here in Egypt."…

After the stellar showing in Beijing, there was hope that even people with physical limitations could be accepted as heroes. The athletes were greeted by Egypt’s first lady, Suzanne Mubarak, and the president’s son Gamal. They were also promised cash rewards for their victories. But then it was back home to Zagazig, and a return to indifference. …

"We are hoping through sports to begin to change people’s attitudes," Ms. Ahmed said one day as she went to pay a visit to her first gym."

A look at Chicago's Own Paralympians

Ms Ahmed inspired me to do a little research about past champs from Chicago. Our city has its share of Paralympic champions as well.

Since 1988 the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) has sponsored 53 athletes competing at the Paralympics:

• Seoul 1988 (1 athlete, 1 sport, 0 medals)
• Barcelona 1992 (8 athletes, 5 sports, 3 medals)
• Atlanta 1996 (14 athletes, 9 sports, 7 medals)
• Sydney 2000 (7 athletes, 4 sports, 2 medals)
• Salt Lake City 2002 (9 athletes, 2 sports, 3 medals)
• Athens 2004 (7 athletes, 3 sports, 3 medals)
• Torino 2006 (4 athletes, 2 sports, 4 medals)
• Beijing 2008 (3 athletes, 3 sports, 1 medal).

The Racer

In February 2006 RIC announced the receipt of a grant from the U.S. Paralympics to be designated as the U.S. Paralympic Midwest Training Center - an effort to drive participation in sports for kids with disabilities and fuel the future of the U.S. Paralympic team. Linda Mastandrea, an attorney who uses a wheelchair, was hired as its Director. As the press release states:

"In 1996, she was a Gold and Silver Medalist in wheelchair track at the U.S. Paralympics where she also set a world record in the 200-meter, 400-meter, 800-meter, and 1500-meter races. She has won 15 gold and 5 silver medals in international competitions and was the first disabled athlete to serve on the United States Olympic Committee Board of Directors."

She stopped competing in 1999 to pursue her law career and her goal to assist people with disabilities who have experienced discrimination.

The Swimmer

Jason Wening, the clinical research director in an Oak Park orthotics practice, is a five-time Paralympic Gold medalist (plus one Bronze medal) before retiring after the Sydney Games in 2000. He still holds three Paralympic world records, in the 800- and 1500- meter freestyle and the 400-meter individual medley.

The Cyclist

Greta Neimanas, a young Chicagoan, was born with her left arm missing below the elbow. Almost since birth she has benefited from the care and expertise of Rehab Institute of Chicago’s prosthetic team and, with this assistance, has gone on to represent the US in the Beijing Paralympic as a member of the cycling team. Her first Paralympic experience was in Athens where she observed the proceedings. She had won the trip in an essay contest sponsored by RIC with her winning essay, "What Ability Means to Me". After only four years experience as a cyclist, she won a gold medal in Beijing.

According to the RIC website, "In January 2008 the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago's Wirtz Sports Program was named by the United States Olympic Committee as a Paralympic Sports Club. As a Paralympic Sport Club, RIC Sports' Paralympic Services is comprised of three components: 1) Adaptive military program for wounded veterans, 2) Paralympic Academy for children, and 3) Athlete development."

Three cheers and a standing ovation for these amazing athletes – and for the foresight of RIC in sponsoring them since 1988! We admire their hard work and the successes they have achieved. And we applaud RIC for their belief in the abilities of people with physical differences and the support and training they have always provided them. And imagine what Heba Ahmed would think!

Related Bookmarks

• More about Chicago cyclist Greta Neimanas
• Rundown of Wheelchair Track Athletes from U of I Urbana
• News: Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Ice Sled Hockey Team Competes In Japan
• RIC Sends Six to 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing
• Homepage for RIC Paralympic Services
• RIC Sports Paralympic History
• Greta Neimanas' Patient Story
• International Paralympic Committee Home Page

State Street is going through a construction effort in order to make the sidewalks more accessible for those with disabilities.

The City of Chicago should be commended for its recent efforts to improve the sidewalks on State Street, a major retailing center for the City. However, in creating sidewalk ramps and warning devices for those with impaired vision, we are going to have to go through some temporary pain.

Here is a recent release from the Mayor’s Office for people with disabilities. Be patient while the construction is being done, knowing that not only will this help make life easier for those with differing abilities, but it will also help the retailers on State Street through increased pedestrian traffic and increased revenues as well.

Message from the Chicago Department of Transportation:

STATE STREET ADA SIDEWALK WORK - LAKE STREET TO VAN BUREN STREET
Starting in late September, the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will begin a project to improve the sidewalks along State Street from Lake Street to Van Buren Street. The work entails the installation of sidewalk corners that meet the standards of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The new corners will feature wheelchair-accessible ramps and detectible warning surfaces for the visually impaired. The work also entails repaving the intersection of each cross street along State Street.  

Pedestrian Impacts

During construction all sidewalks will remain open. Pedestrians will be directed to temporary sidewalks in areas where work is occurring.

Traffic Impacts

In construction areas, one lane of traffic will be closed. All intersections will remain open to traffic in all directions. Some left turns from State Street will be temporarily prohibited.

Building Impacts

Access will be maintained to all buildings along State Street.

CTA Impacts

Some CTA bus stops will be temporarily relocated nearby. Red Line subway access is not affected.

PROJECT SCHEDULE
Late September to Mid-November: Van Buren to Adams
Mid-October to late November: Monroe to Lake
All work is scheduled to be complete by the end of November, weather permitting.
For more information, call (312) 744-3600, e-mail cdotnews@cityofchicago.org or visit www.cityofchicago.org/transportation