I attended a meeting recently [1-23-2020] at St. S...

I attended a meeting recently [1-23-2020] at St. Stephen's Community House.

The Columbus Advisory Committee on Disability Issues [CACDI] held its most recent meeting at that location because we would thereby be able to participate in a scheduled demonstration [and a test] of the soon-to-be-operational "Self-Driving Linden Shuttle."

During our meeting, CACDI members and others -- with and without various disabilities -- rode on the test self-driving shuttle [around the parking lot] and let the people who are managing that shuttle know whether that shuttle is accessible for people with all potential disabilities.

One thing about the shuttle that I remember is that the wheelchair ramp does not have "raised lip guardrails" that would prevent a wheelchair user from rolling at the wrong angle and thereby partially falling off of that wheelchair ramp.

The 2.9-mile Self-Driving Lindon Shuttle route will have four stops: the COTA Linden Transit Center at 1390 Cleveland Ave., the Rosewind Resident Council at 1400 Brooks Ave., the Douglas Community Recreation Center at 1250 Windsor Ave., and St. Stephen s Community House at 1500 E. 17th Ave.

This self-driving shuttle is intended to provide what is sometimes called "first-mile-last-mile" public transit service that would connect residents to Central Ohio Transit Authority [COTA] routes and to social services.

While preparing to leave St. Stephen's Community House and before I had decided how best to travel home, I ran into a friend from Marion County who is a survivor of Traumatic Brain Injury [TBI] who receives services, including free meals that are available for seniors, from St. Stephen's Community House.

My friend would have attended that day's CACDI meeting had he known about it; he might attend future CACDI meetings now that he knows about them.

Before I close, I want to be sure to provide the following information.

If you request a key to use the bathroom at St. Stephen's Community House, it might be helpful to know that that key does not fit into the top keyhole of the bathroom door [the deadbolt] but that it does fit into the lower keyhole [in the center of the turn handle].