WHY BUSES CAN’T GET WHEELCHAIR USERS TO MOST AREAS OF CITIES

STUDY IN COLUMBUS FINDS LACK OF SIDEWALKS HAMPERS MOBILITY

A landmark study published by Ohio State University researchers in the Journal of Transport Geography in the second quarter of 2023 states that only one percent of Columbus, Ohio is accessible to transit riders who use manual wheelchairs for mobility.

The number increases to only 25 percent for those who can afford power wheelchairs. 

The groundbreaking study showed the broken, missing and obstructed sidewalks, inaccessible buildings and other barriers meant the vast majority of the city is off-limits to people with mobility disabilities.

Researchers noted that Columbus is typical of most large cities and that the same isolating, segregating and unhealthy built environment exists in most. 

If one sidewalk was broken, missing, too narrow, too tilted or even blocked by a parked car – the person with a disability’s pathway is 100 percent denied.

When those using wheelchairs, scooters, crutches, canes and other assistive mobility devices perpetually hit a barrier, they must detour for blocks to reach their destination. Being tardy to class too often  can result in a terrible grade for a  great student. 

Constantly being late for work has negative results ranging from being denied promotions to getting fired.

This report should be front page news in every newspaper in America.

https://news.osu.edu/why-buses-cant-get-wheelchair-users-to-most-areas-of-cities/

FIX THE ENVIRONMENT, NOT THE PERSON

 MY ENDURING SKEPTICISM WITH STAIR-CLIMBING WHEELCHAIRS

 

People without disabilities always seem to being (foolishly, arrogantly) staking their claim as those that know what best for people with disabilities.

I am able-bodied, but a third of a century of being married to (and warmly serving as the caregiver to) a spouse who uses a wheelchair for mobility, has informed my opinions.

While I wouldn't stop research into super-human, super-costly mobility devices, I loathe the idea of "fixing" people with disabilities.

My wife is a Person with a Disability (PWD).

She is not broken.

Rivers bend, trees twist -- they are not considered disabled, they are considered beautiful.

Diversity is seen throughout nature.

It makes life interesting, rich and worth living.

PWDs are a significant portion of the population and buildings, parks, transit, streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, mobility devices and civic space should be designed to accommodate them.

About those I-Bots, exoskeletons and super wheelchairs sold as solutions to barriers for PWDs

I knew a wealthy person with a stair climbing wheelchair.

It cost him a fortune.

It performed about 8 hours per day.

That meant he had to have a backup standard power wheelchair and could never rely on the stair-climbing super chair to meet his daily work and living needs.

The stair-climbing gyroscope of a wheelchair not only cost more than 95% of the population could afford, but it also was subject to very expensive repair and maintenance.

Something that works 1/3 of the day and is out of price reach of nearly all -- IS NOT A SOLUTION.