Why does the Accessibility Strategy use both “people with disabilities” and “disabled people”?
Some in the disability community prefer person-first language, which recognizes the person before the disability. Others prefer identity-first language, which uses the description (“disabled”) first. To respect both preferences, the Accessibility Strategy uses either phrase interchangeably.
Accessibility: The opportunity for a person with a disability to acquire the same information and materials, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability, in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use.
Accessible pedestrian signal: A device integrated with pedestrian signals at crossings that provides audible and tactile information about the “walk” and “don’t walk” phases for people with vision disabilities. They can also provide information about street names.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Signed into law on July 26, 1990, the ADA is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits, under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal.
Ambulatory: The ability to walk and climb stairs without mobility devices or other forms of assistance.
Blue zones: On-street parking for vehicles with a disabled parking placard. Blue zones are marked by blue paint and are effective 24 hours a day.
Emerging mobility: New mobility services such as scooters, bikeshare, Transportation Network Companies and Autonomous Vehicles.
Fixed route: Public transportation that runs on a predetermined route according to a predetermined schedule.
Flag stops: Bus stops where Muni will stop in the street rather than pull to the curb. Stops are indicated by yellow paint on a poll or pavement markings.
Indirect routes: Transit routes that do not go straight to a person’s destination.
Key stations: 41 Muni light rail stations identified in the 1992 Key Station Identification Accessibility Information Plan that needed to be improved to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act
Paratransit: A van and taxi program for people unable to independently use or access public transit because of a disability or disabling health condition.
Quick Builds: Reversible traffic safety improvements that can be installed relatively quickly. Unlike major capital projects that may take years to plan, design, bid, and construct, quick-build projects are constructed within weeks or months.
Skipped stop: Bus stop that operators are ordered to avoid when another vehicle on the same route is close behind. Stop skipping is a common transit service management tool used to even out service.
Surface stop: Aboveground light rail stops located along transit routes that serve neighborhoods in the western and southern parts of San Francisco.
Transit Priority Projects: Engineering improvements designed to address transit delay, improve reliability, and increase the safety and comfort of customers along SFMTA’s most heavily used routes. Projects may include lane modifications, traffic signal changes, or parking restrictions.
Transit Priority Quick Builds: Minor improvements that reduce needless delay to transit riders, such as painting a curb, moving a bus stop or adding a traffic sign.
Wayfinding: Signs used to help customers navigate public transit and the street network.
Wayside lift: Mechanical boarding platform that provides accessible, level boarding at surface light rail stops when raised to vehicle floor height.