HENDERSON, Nev. (FOX5) – A group of seniors is sounding off the alarm in Henderson after two bus stops on Water Street were moved several blocks away last month.
They say the added distance causes an unbearable burden for many elderly riders.
“Doctors appointments, grocery shopping, anything that we need to do, the stops were there for us for our convenience,” said senior Henderson resident, Léspierres Streater.
“But now I have to go all the way to Boulder Highway to catch the bus to get to my doctor,” said Bernice Moss, another senior Henderson resident.
A once convenient bus stop for seniors in Henderson now moved several blocks away.
“The distance that they moved it is three or four blocks, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you’re on a scooter or walking with a walker, that’s a long way,” said senior Henderson resident Richard Dover.
A group of senior bus riders outside the Downtown Senior Center Wednesday said the added distance has added more physical strain and safety concerns to their journeys, hindering that sense of independence the bus provides.
“I have several people that can barely make it up to this stop, and they’ve moved it, so now they don’t go,” said Dover. “Their solution is we don’t go.”
The City of Henderson and RTC closed the bus stops near Water Street and Atlantic in April, with new stops opening at Water Street and Basic Road to replace them, about three blocks away.
However, some seniors say that’s too far away, especially for wheelchair users and riders with disabilities.
“Yeah, I have a power scooter, but the energy only lasts so long on it, so I have to plan my trips, and adding that additional six blocks and back makes a difference on where I can go,” said Dover. “My oxygen supply, same thing. It’s 10 minutes of oxygen there, 10 minutes of oxygen back. That’s 20 minutes, that’s a lot of oxygen.”
A spokesperson for the City of Henderson said the stops were relocated as part of a joint action plan with RTC, and the city had a specialist in the field conducting outreach at the location from March 24 to 31 regarding the relocation.
The city spokesperson said the new bus stop location at Water Street and Basic Road is more centrally located to the heart of downtown Henderson with accessibility to City Hall and the Justice Facility, adding, “This enhancement will ease traffic congestion and offer additional parking for local businesses and events at Water Street Plaza.”
However, the group of seniors said they feel overlooked in the decision.
Streater, a wheelchair user, even filed an Americans with Disabilities Act grievance with RTC, hoping they hear his concerns.
“It’s an inconvenience, it’s a hindrance on the seniors and disabled to catch the bus now,” he said. “And that’s what the ADA situation’s all about: access and accommodations.”
FOX5 also reached out to RTC about the bus stop relocation concerns and Streater’s ADA complaint, but we’re still awaiting a response.
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