Editor:
As one who has walked with crutches for quite a few years, I was shocked to learn that the new Expo Line terminus is sadly lacking.
There are, of course, ramps for the handicapped. However, the ramp on the south side of the station is too narrow. If someone in a wheelchair is using it, it is almost impossible for someone standing up and using a walker or crutches to squeeze past. Two wheelchairs on this ramp is an impossibility.
Then let's look at the ramp on the north side. This ramp is much wider, providing for easier access. However, it empties onto a sidewalk that is a nightmare. The new sidewalk in the 400 block of Colorado Avenue is alternating blue and buff tiles that are wavy in shape. (Sorry, that's the best I can do for a description.) One notices that already the filler (grout?) between the tiles is eroding.
That is not the biggest problem, though. The wavy pattern of the tiles causes an optical illusion which can easily lead to vertigo in many people. Thus, the MTA provides a ramp and the City of Santa Monica tries to make us fall down.
Someone seems to have come down on the side of form over function.
Steven Flowers
Santa Monica
