PEDESTRIAN MOBILITY MUST BE MAINTAINED

DURING SIDEWALK REPAIRS AND BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

This is a great way to safely maintain wheelchair accessible pedestrian mobility when the sidewalk is closed.

New York uses these all the time, but they are virtually nonexistent in Miami.

PROUD TO HAVE CREATED MORE THAN 5,000 BLOG POSTS

MOST ADDRESS HOW TO CREATE A BETTER BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WHILE UPLIFTING URBAN QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL

In the past decade and a half, I have created 5,000+ original posts for my blog – “Urban Travel, Sustainability & Accessibility.”

 

I have shared travel images from nearly 50 major cities, where I have worked to increase awareness of Universal Design and Inclusive Mobility.

 

While I have certainly posted on typical resiliency, sustainability and green building techniques – I define sustainability primarily as wheelchair access.

 

Because making something accessible from the start creates a home, office, school, park, store, etc. – the most flexible, adaptable and cost effective facility possible.

 

My posts have totaled well more than 1.3 million words.

 

That’s equal to the word count in 20 non-fiction books.

 

All of my content is posted free, virtually always with my own images – drawn from an  archive of 40,000+ fine art photographs, some of which have been featured at major galleries.

 

My blog has drawn more than 4 million unique visitors, starting with a few dozen per day and now building to well more than 30,000 each day.

 

That number rivals the average daily paid digital circulation of most major newspapers, including my hometown Miami Herald.

 

 

IS SEGREGATION EVER A GOOD THING? THE ANSWER IS NO

DISABLED AND NON DISABLED PATRONS SHOULD SHARE THE SAME MAINSTREAMED, INCLUSIVE ENTRANCE TO A MUSEUM

Reflection in twin pools/fountains in front of The Metropolitan Museum of Art along Fifth Avenue.

MET has a ground level wheelchair accessible entrance.

But wish it would stop using the stairs as a segregated entrance.

TRUE, DURABLE ACCESSIBILITY IS NOT A CHECK MARK

IT IS BORN OF INPUT FROM END USERS

I hate the use of this limited access lift at Temple of Dendur.

Does the Metropolitan Museum of Art not work with wheelchair users when designing?

This cavernous room could accommodate a simple ramp.

Lifts break down all the time.

Lifts are an example of disability compliance by checkmark.

A device meets minimum standards & that’s all the facility cares about.

Ableists could care less than lifts require a key that always goes missing and assistance that robs wheelchair users of dignity & independence.

REFUSING TO DESIGN CITIES FOR ALL IS NOT HEALTHY

IT IS TOXIC ABLEISM

Many ableists think now that we have home delivery of food, medicine, clothes, etc. — there is no need to make the built environment wheelchair accessible.

But isolation prevents chance encounters/diverse experiences that maintain mental health.

Only 25 percent of MTA subway stations are accessible.

Adding broken down lifts and people with disabilities are denied chance encounters and societal immersions that other commuters enjoy.

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WANT BUILDING ACCESS

THAT IS DURABLE, RELIABLE AND SIMPLE

THE MORE GADGETS, THE MORE LIKELY THE DEVICE WILL FAIL

NEVER trust an architect that wants to create wheelchair access via a complex contraption.

Bells & whistles feed ego.

They also are high maintenance, cost prohibitive & prone to fail.

A simple, durable ramp works 95% of the time. 

This ramp provides access within historic St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan.

THE HIGH LINE NYC GETS THUMBS UP FOR WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

PATH OF TRAVEL IS LEVEL, GENTLY GRADED, UNOBSTRUCTED & OVERALL OUTSTANDING & RAMPED/ELEVATOR ACCESS IS GOOD

The High Line has five public elevators for barrier-free access.

This one is at 14th Street and 10th Avenue.

At any given time, at least one elevator is out of service.

Check https://thehighline.org/elevator-status