By Cheryl Fries—Owner and Creative Director of Arrowhead Films
#YallAboard Means ALL aboard — Accessibility For All Texans
Cheryl Fries Co-owner and Creative Director of Arrowhead Films
“The Texas High-Speed Train offers a desperately-needed travel alternative for millions of families – like mine.”
As film producers, our Arrowhead Films work has taken us all over the world, allowing us to experience the many benefits of high-speed train transportation. We’ve often talked about how great it would be for Texas to have that option – so we were delighted to learn that it soon will.
But we had another, more personal reason to be excited to help Texas Central communicate its commitment to accessible travel for every passenger.
As parents of a child with orthopedic disabilities, we know firsthand that the normal stress of travel is compounded for people with disabilities. Long car rides are uncomfortable and require specialized vehicles to accommodate mobility equipment. And air travel can actually be way more than stressful; it can be a nightmare.
Those of us who live with disability also know that all too often, accessibility is either an afterthought or is approached only as a minimal legal compliance issue. Texas Central’s up-front commitment to involving people with disabilities in the planning and design process, and the company’s goal of ensuring that every traveler – regardless of ability – will have a safe, fast, and fun way to move across Texas is a terrific model we hope every infrastructure, transportation, and public space planner will adopt.
On board accessible restrooms. Stay-in-your-chair ride options. Room to accommodate service animals. Reduced sensory input stressors. Station way finding for the visually impaired. The folks building this train are thinking ahead for universal access. When Texas Central says “Y’all Aboard,” they truly mean “All Y’all Aboard.”
We can’t wait for our first ride!