Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Date of Final Review: August 18, 2009

Winston-Salem Transit Authority (WSTA) - Lift Maintenance Transmittal Letter

August 18, 2009

Mr. Art Barnes
General Manager
Winston-Salem Transit Authority
1600 N. Trade Street
Winston-Salem, NC 27101

Dear Mr. Barnes:

Thank you for your response to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) letter and preliminary report of findings of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) Compliance Review of Lift Reliability and Maintenance for Operation of Fixed Route Bus Service, conducted April 28-May 1, 2008 of the Winston-Salem Transit Authority (WSTA). Since your letter of February 12, 2009 had no comments or corrections to the preliminary report, we now consider it to be a final report and have attached a copy so marked. As of the date of this letter the final report became a public document and is subject to dissemination under the Freedom of Information Act of 1974.

Enclosed with this letter is a progress table listing FTA’s understanding of the corrective actions either planned or taken by WSTA in response to the preliminary findings contained in the draft report. I would like to commend you for your actions to date. If you feel that our summarization of proposed corrective actions is inconsistent with your response, please inform us in writing as soon as possible.

As indicated in the attached table, we consider WSTA’s proposed corrective actions to be clear and appropriate. We also consider corrective actions to be completed for 8 of the 20 findings for which FTA requested a response. These findings are considered closed and this is indicated in the “Current Status” column of the attached table. For the remaining 12 findings, we request that WSTA provide updates in Quarterly Progress Reports. The first report will be due on September 15, 2009, and should include information and data for the months of March through August 2009, and any actions completed prior to that date that have not already been addressed. Additional reports will be due by October 15, 2009, January 15, 2010, and each calendar quarter thereafter until FTA releases WSTA from this reporting requirement. Please use the enclosed table as the format to report progress to FTA on the outstanding corrective actions.

Again, I commend you for the efforts that WSTA has already made to correct the deficiencies identified in the draft report, and we anticipate your continued endeavors to fully implement your proposed corrective actions. We appreciate the cooperation and assistance that you and your staff provided during this review. Should you have any questions about the enclosed report, the reporting table, or this letter, please contact Ms. Susan Clark, Equal Opportunity Specialist, at (202) 493-0511 or at her e-mail address: sue.clark@dot.gov. Please provide a copy of each quarterly progress reporting table to her via e-mail

It would also be very helpful to us if you would provide electronic copies of all correspondence to this office to Mr. Frank Billue at FTA’s Region IV Office, at his e-mail address: frank.billue@dot.gov.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Hershey
Director, Office of Civil Rights

Enclosures

cc: Yvette G. Taylor, FTA Region IV Administrator
Frank Billue, FTA Region IV Civil Rights Officer
Dudley White, FTA Region IV Director of Program Management & Oversight
Susan A. Clark, FTA Office of Civil Rights