Citing concern for handicapped and elderly access to the Medical Center, hundreds of people have signed a petition calling for a temporary relocation of some GUTS bus routes. The petition, which has collected more than 700 signatures, claims that riders of the Rosslyn, Law Center and Arlington Loop routes face increased dangers and hardships under the new bus path, which loads and unloads passengers at the intersection of Tondorf and North Roads. Riders have to travel uphill to the Medical Center and downhill on the way back. The petition calls for a temporary relocation of the stop back to the Leavey Center – where the buses stopped until Nov. 26 – until the university proposes an alternate means of accommodating people with disabilities. Before Nov. 26, the routes continued to the Leavey Center, offering closer access to the Medical Center. GUTS buses continue to depart from the Leavey Center for the Dupont Circle and Wisconsin Avenue routes. The petition is being circulated by Alexis Healey (GRD ’06, MED ’11), Brian Boston, academic coordinator for Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship and Alicia Bell (GRD ’06), a research assistant in the department of physiology and biophysics. Bell said that many of those who have signed the petition claim that the relocation of the GUTS bus stop has had negative effects for GUTS bus riders in general. In particular, Bell said, the changes have failed to meet the university’s intended goals. “There is a greater volume of pedestrians walking up West Road and Tondorf Road and basically the same amount of traffic with the exception of a few buses,” she said. In addition, she said the condition of both West and Tondorf Road make the walk cumbersome for the disabled. “The sidewalks aren’t good enough, they’re not continuous, and you can imagine if you were someone with mobility issues, it would be very difficult to try and get up that hill or even use those sidewalks, because the one on Tondorf road even has steps,” she said. The university cited increased traffic from pedestrians, personal vehicles, maintenance vehicles and GUTS buses as the primary reason for changing the location to the current Tondorf Road stop. Healey proposed an alternative route, under which GUTS buses could travel up West Road, a road she said has less pedestrian traffic, to the Leavey Center. Bell also said that a smaller vehicle could be placed at the current Tondorf stop to transport disabled people to and from the Medical Center. Healey said she first arrived at Georgetown while recovering from a spinal cord injury, and, as a result, understands the difficulties in accommodating people with disabilities. However, she also feels it could be more of a priority for the university. “Before I injured myself and was disabled, I did not have any concept about what disabled people needed. So I hesitate to make any criticism of them because I think that they didn’t have all the information they needed,” she said. “I hope desperately that they can find a better way to accommodate people who are disabled and the elderly.” University spokesperson Julie Bataille said the change was made primarily out of safety concerns, but the university will continue to try and improve disability accommodations. “The [vice president] for facilities and student housing, in consultation with faculty and campus leaders, acted to change the GUTS shuttle stops in the interest of pedestrian safety. A variety of options were looked at over several months and this was determined to be the best approach to promoting pedestrian safety,” she said. “University administrators are aware of the needs of those members of our community who may need special accommodations as a result of this change and are working to address them on an individual basis.” Jane Holahan, director of the Academic Resource Center, Diann Nock Smith, director of the Office for Transportation Management, and Karen Frank, vice president for facilities and student housing, could not be reached for comment.