English-only Orange Line signs create confusion in some neighborhoods
BOSTON - Two days before the shutdown of the Orange Line, some riders who don't speak English as their first language are struggling to understand new routes as the MBTA signs are posted only in English.
Debbie Ho, the executive director of Chinatown Main Streets has been helping community members in Chinatown navigate their way through the coming Orange Line shutdown.
On Tuesday, she said, she was given some flyers in Chinese announcing the closure, but they don't have detailed routes like those in English.
"They don't even have exactly where to catch the bus or whatever," said Ho. "It's discombobulating."
She is making her own copies and distributing them to neighborhood businesses. At the Chinatown stop, the signs are in English, with the MBTA says riders need to access the online Rider's Guide, which is available in nine languages.
"If you want to be totally inclusive, then we should have that in mind putting these posters up," said Orange Line rider Arnold Chang.