The ribbon cutting held last November for the new Department of Veterans Affairs Jamestown Outpatient Clinic at 321 Hazeltine Ave. Some veterans are having difficulty reaching the new VA Clinic. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

The new location of the Department of Veterans Affairs Jamestown Outpatient Clinic apparently isn’t as accessible as the former location.

During the October Human Rights Commission meeting, Chris Blakeslee, who heads the commission’s veterans exploration group, said he has provided rides to veterans without vehicles to the VA Clinic, located at 321 Hazeltine Ave., because the new location is not reachable by foot. The former VA Clinic was located along West Third Street. In November 2020, the new VA Clinic opened in the plaza along Hazeltine Avenue.

The commission members then discussed local medical transportation companies like Fancee Transportation and Chautauqua Area Regional Transit System (CARTS) that could be used to assist the veterans who need to go to the VA Clinic.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the mayor’s office could reach out to officials from both CARTS and the VA Clinic to possibly find a solution to assist the veterans who are having difficulty accessing the new Hazeltine Avenue location.

Blakeslee also discussed accessibility issues some wheelchair-bound veterans are having with buildings downtown. The Rev. Dodi McIntyre, who heads the commission’s disability exploration group, said members of her exploration group will be making videos that will be posted on social media that will demonstrate buildings that aren’t easily accessible by wheelchair. She also said the videos will show buildings that have done a quality job provide access to people in a wheelchair.

“We want to just build awareness,” she said.

Sundquist said the videos could also be posted on the city’s official social media sites.