DISABILITY IS NOT AN OUTLIER

INCLUSION IS A MUST!

When I post about the need for barrier free sidewalks in Miami’s Shenandoah, many people act like I am serving one person.

Well, this is one of 3 wheelchair ramped houses on the short side street of SW 18 Ave between SW 14-16 Aves.

That much need for access is proof positive that:

Disability is NOT an outlier.

Inclusion is a MUST!

WHEN THE WHEELCHAIR ACCESS IS STEERED AWAY FROM THE MAIN ENTRANCE

BAD THINGS HAPPEN BECAUSE PEOPLE BLOCK RAMPS WITH EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN

Wheelchair access ramps are NOT:

Places to park scooters or bikes.

Storage for extra chairs & tables.

This is what happens when ignorant cities let lazy architects design segregated entrances for people with disabilities.

It also is the fault of cities that are not proactive in regulating micromobility.

I WILL NOT LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE CITIES

PRIORITIZE HUMAN BEINGS OVER VEHICLES

Amazing that a car can break down on a sleepy side street — and it’s towed away in a half hour to keep auto traffic flowing.

But shoddy utility vault work that destroys pedestrian safety in a dense, walkable area festers for months

We obsess on clearing the way for speeding traffic.

We block wheelchair/all safe pedestrian mobility for months.

This is in the heart of Miami Beach.

TIMELESS UNIVERSAL DESIGN

VS BEGRUDGING ADA COMPLIANCE

Textbook example of the difference between lousy ADA compliance and welcoming Universal Design.

Main entrance to Perez Art Museum Miami all steps.

Ramp narrow and hidden to the side.

It says you should be segregated and ashamed if you can’t do stairs.

The Americans with Disabilities Act is the floor, not the ceiling.

Competent architects, planners and designers seek creative ways to mainstream all access and mobility.

Others build monuments to their lazy shortsightedness. 

This structure was designed two decades after the ADA.

Checklist, isolating compliance is NOT a winning approach for a major civic building on the waterfront of a major international city.  

DOUGLAS ROAD IS A MAJOR CORRIDOR

NARROW SIDEWALKS AND PINCH POINTS DESTROY WHEELCHAIR ACCESS FOR MANY SW 37 AVENUE SEGMENTS BETWEEN CORAL GABLES-MIAMI

After walking 7 blocks on Douglas Road today:

I can confidently say if I am given the choice between 2 days in jail or walking 12 blocks of Douglas & crossing its dangerous traffic 4 times—I’m picking time in the lock up.

Narrow sidewalks.

No shade.

Power polls and other barriers that destroy wheelchair access.

More than 1/3 of people in Miami-Dade County cannot or do not drive.

They deserve a multi mobile experience on this major artery also known as 37th Ave.

Let’s fix this.

The people of Miami and Coral Gables deserve better.

WHEN I WENT TO WORK FOR MIAMI CITY COMMISSIONER JOE SANCHEZ IN 2002, NO ONE WOULD HAVE IMAGINED THIS BEING POSSIBLE

NOW, YET ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL BOUTIQUE HOTEL HAS OPENED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LITTLE HAVANA’S ART AND CULTURE

Fabulous art and wheelchair access at El Jardin Inn Miami.

“A boutique neighborhood hotel where local art & modern hospitality meet in the heart of Little Havana”

A welcome addition to the community, a block from the heart of Calle Ocho, at 1568 SW 7th St.

https://www.eljardininn.com

ADAPTIVE REUSE OF AN OLD BUILDING

CANNOT CREATE SUBSTANDARD ACCESS 

FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

This is what happens when lazy/ableist city officials allow a new business to gut an old building but NOT make the entrance accessible to people with disabilities.

The high threshold results in no wheelchair access.

This is on Giralda in Coral Gables – where the city spent millions creating a people-friendly pedestrian district.

The city also could have raised the pavers to meet the threshold, but it neglected that as well.

Nearly a year ago, I was promised this would be fixed.

Lack of access means it is not friendly to people who use wheelchairs for mobility.