Photo(s) of the Week: "Have a seat?"

Many of our participants are also clients at The Healing Place of Wake County, and we love working with them! They often take a picture of the sign for the Healing Place as something that is really helpful to them in getting around town and other areas of their life. But they also often photograph the one uncovered bench at the bus stop nearest to the Healing Place as something that is a major barrier to them getting around town. Judging from the pictures below from one participant, what about this might pose a problem for these participants? How might this effect the rest of their day?

Photo(s) of the Week: "If the city takes care of its people..."

"If the city takes care of its people, then people will take care of it."

An MVP participant recently said these words to describe the need for bus shelters to be put in place and well maintained in Raleigh. From her view, if the city puts up nice shelters with a place to throw away trash, people will keep them clean. If not, then people will follow the city's example.

Participants often comment on the need for more shelters and on how much shelters in different parts of the city differ in quality and maintenance. See several of the different photographs just this one participant took of various shelters in Raleigh. How do they differ?

Photo of the Week: "All my Stuff"

"All of my stuff I have to carry and try to fit on a bus."

A common concern among our participants is trying to take all of their belongings with them on the buses. For participants without storage space, they must carry everything they own with them everywhere they go. Participants must make difficult decisions about what is worth carrying and what they must get rid of. They experience the stigma of carrying these possessions with them on the buses as well as the physical difficulty of crossing town carrying so much baggage. Buses are generally not equipped to accommodate passengers carrying luggage. See what this participant thought was still worth carrying around town? What would you keep? What would you be able to get rid of?

Photo of the Week: "Kind of Scary"

This participant used her photo to show that: "The way to the library is kind of scary sometimes due to no cross-walk there & lots of cars go by." How could we make Clark more pedestrian-friendly for easier access to the resources in Cameron Village?

Photo of the Week: "After dark"

Another striking participant photo to show how there are, "not enough street lamps on some less frequently visited bus stop areas ... after dark!" Safety after dark while riding transit or walking is a common concern of MVP participants. What more can be done to make riders and pedestrians safer after dark?

Photo of the Week: Can you find it?

Can you find the crosswalk signal in this picture? Hint: It's waaay back behind the Exxon sign on the left. One of our participants took this very illustrative photo of why this could make for a dangerous intersection for pedestrians. — at 624 St Mary's St Raleigh NC.

Photo of the Week: "Speedy Service"

Speedy Service

This week one of our MVP participants submitted a picture of the information booth at Moore Square Station in downtown Raleigh.

The participant who took this photo listed this booth as a 'boost' to her transportation situation - something that helps her get around town. In her own words:

"The information desk is a boost because it allows you to buy passes in advance and to see what bus connects with other buses. The service is speedy."

Photo of the Week: "Hard to Downsize"

Hard to Downsize

This is a photo taken by one of our participants this week to represent a barrier she faces to getting around town each week. 

What she wanted to illustrate with this photo was the difficulty of carrying around multiple bags. When asked what she does to make it easier, she mentioned downsizing as a strategy. But even that has its disadvantages:

"It's really hard to downsize when [you're carrying around] your life. It's hard to pick and choose. And if you want to downsize to at least one or two bags, but you end up with four bags...you have to give everything you got away, almost."

Photo of the Week: Lonely or Shelter?

This is a photo taken by one of our participants. Her description of what it means to her: "To me it's about perception of public transportation. It could be lonely. But it also could be safe because there's a shelter there, and there's not a shelter everywhere." — at Rex Hospital.

Photo of the Week: Overcrowded

A photo taken by a participant shows how overcrowded buses in Raleigh can be! Overcrowded buses leave little room for older transit riders to sit and can be problematic when new passengers are boarding a bus that is already full of people or even must be turned away when a bus is completely full. Another good reason to advocate for more transit in the Triangle!

This Week in MVP: Results from MVP Pilot so far...

We held the pilot session for the Mobile Voice Project throughout late November and early December of 2012. Our team is hopeful that the data we collected will shed some light on the mobility patterns of the participants from the Women's Center of Wake County, and help us to fine-tune the logistics of the intervention before full implementation.

The numerous photographs taken by the participants were particularly interesting to go through and analyze. MVP team members are currently in the process of compiling the best shots and using them to create a video about the project. I've edited quite a few at this point, and I'd really like to share some of my personal favorites because I think they all illustrate the fact that these women lead complex and different lives, though all of them are affected by transportation in some way.

The Raleigh skyline as seen from South Harrington street.

Some women find it easier to walk in lieu of using public transportation due to delays and bus fare. 

Moore Square Station is a bustling area where Raleigh travelers wait to catch bus connections. 

Pedestrian and public transportation, side by side.

We are excited to share more photos with you through this process. As of right now, we are all working to get "official" sessions of the project underway, both at the Women's Center and at the Helen Wright Center for Women. We will begin full implementation in March, so make sure to check back on this blog for updates!

Photo of the Week: No Sidewalks

A photo taken by a participant to show the terrain she and her daughter have to walk on where there are no sidewalks. Sidewalks are an important piece of our city's infrastructure for those who walk and/or ride transit to get around, particularly to walk safely with children, yet they are still absent in many parts of our city.