DANGEROUS SIDWALKS

CITY OF MIAMI ROUTINELY BLOCKS SAFE PEDESTRIAN AND WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

A sign for vehicles blocks the sidewalk to wheelchair users and others on SW 16 Avenue near Coral Way in Miami. A neighbor took pictures, sent a complaint and after waiting more than a month with no answer, the city moved the sign three inches -- and left it still in ADA violation.

My wife uses a wheelchair for mobility and she's been going out with me while I continue to walk to lose weight. 

We can barely make it a few blocks without running up against some kind of obstruction to the sidewalk – a sign in the middle of it, stop light equipment boxes blocking it, or cars illegally parked over it perpetually and not one police officer who cares to ticket that illegal behavior.

This isn't silly or annoying. It's a death sentence.

When my wife goes out in the street, she is risking her life.

I’m not always around to try to guard against bad drivers.

The way Miami drivers drive, the street could be empty one moment, then a person going 45 mph or faster can turn off another road and plow her over.

She cannot leap out of the way.

She has a top-of-the-line wheelchair, but it does not move quickly.

It disgusts me that every day, our city leaders are on national TV, recruiting tech firms and giving away public land to billionaire developers.

But they don't spend 10 minutes taking a common-sense approach to removing barriers and making sure future public works employees never repeat the same mistakes.

Half the time when there isn't a sign right in the center of the sidewalk, there are too many driveways at a sharp angle.

Imagine being in a wheelchair and riding at a nearly 45-degree angle and hoping gravity doesn't take over your 200-pound mobility device and flip you into oncoming traffic or topple over on you -- leading to series injury or your death. 

Progressive cities keep the sidewalks level while using more space for the driveway to go out into the right of way.

But in Miami, every yard and right of way has been taken for one more lane of breakneck traffic -- even on sleepy side streets -- so the sidewalks are ruined.

One day, they hire a consultant for hundreds of thousands to promote walkability and bike use.

But the other 364, they are lazily, stupidly creating danger and chaos.

I'm not genius, but at 10 years old -- without an engineering, architecture or town planning degree -- I could have figured out that a sign post (think metal or huge concrete) blocking the safe pedestrian sidewalk…is a damn dumb idea.

How can trained professionals paid incredible salaries, with top shelf benefits and an early retirement age unheard of outside city employment -- keep making the same idiot moves?

Whenever I need an image of how NOT to do things (close a city block of desperately needed sidewalk on Calle 8 for 2 years to allow a developer to profit more) -- I only have to walk within a mile of my house to get images that show idiotic city design.

I hate to state these facts and state them in anger – but when my adopted hometown favors profit over people 99% of the time, the truth must be shared.