SAFETY - The Real ChicaGO DASH Issue

Narrow Aisles:  In an emergency,
would these be enough to let us out?

The buses purchased area, without a doubt, unsafe. The extremely narrow aisles make it difficult for most people to walk down them easily (i.e. most people have to “shimmy” their way down the aisles). For some people, it becomes a true challenge to get up and down these walkways. When I see this, it makes me cringe to think about what would happen to these people if one of these buses were to be involved in an accident. While the buses may meet whatever requirements may be promulgated by the federal government, this does not relieve local officials from exercising more sense and better judgment to ensure that residents are safe.

This problem will only be exasperated as the bus is crammed with more riders and I would encourage you to address this issue before something horrible does occur. We may all want to avoid having to think about them, but accidents unfortunately do occur. With our region's stretches of bad weather, construction and crowded highways, the likelihood that something unfortunate does happen only increases. Pointing the finger back at federal officials and laying the blame at their feet would be irresponsible – especially when the issue has been brought to officials' attention beforehand.