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.

PICNIC TABLES MUST BE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

 UNIVERSAL DESIGN IS THE KEY

This is an outstanding example of Universal Design.

The high design picnic tables at South Pointe Park all feature an area where a wheelchair user can roll up to in comfort.

Kudos to Miami Beach.

IT’S AN EMBARRASSMENT TO WALK AN URBAN NEIGHBORHOOD – WHEN THE SIDEWALK SHRINKS TO 2 FEED WIDE – CRUSHING ACCESS FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS

MIAMI'S NORTHEAST SECOND AVENUE IS SUPER WIDE AND DANGEROUS – WHILE PEDSTRIAN MOBILTY IS IMPOSSIBLE:                 THIS IS UPSIDE DOWN 

Miami’s Upper Buena Vista is exploding with great restaurants & shops.

But a sidewalk less than 2 feet wide means wheelchair users must go out into incredibly dangerous NE 2nd Ave.

The City of Miami and Miami-Dade County MUST fix this on east side of NE 2nd Ave. at NE 49 St.

This is a screaming violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It defies every planning goal of having walkable, pedestrian friendly urban neighborhoods.

Many sidewalk sections -- why destroy independence for and rob dignity of people with disabilities -- exist in this redeveloping urban enclave.

PERPETUALLY FLOODED CURB RAMP IN MIAMI

ABLEISM IN DESIGN = NO INDEPENDENCE FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS

Dear public servants: design for people with disabilities is NOT an onerous task to be completed to check a “done” box & neglect.

Curb ramps only work when they don’t perpetually flood, then destroy the motor and battery of a wheelchair.

If architects neglected roofs the way cities neglect mobility for people with disabilities, only flimsy cardboard would protect people and their possessions from wind and rain.

Ableism destroys mobility for wheelchair users.

CITIES NEED TO CONSIDER THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

BEFORE ERECTING BARRIERS TO THEIR SAFE MOBILITY

 

I have criticized cities that put up giant bollards or oversized planters to block terrorists from driving into a street festival. 

Those monstrosities endanger wheelchair users who cannot see oncoming cars.

 

Coral Gables simply parked a pair of garbage trucks.

 

Problem solved.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 101: PROTECTING OUT OF CONTROL CARS FROM DOWNING LIGHT POLES

IS 100X MORE IMPORTANT THAN PROTECTING

HUMAN BEINGS FROM CRASHING CARS

Pedestrian epic fail recipe.

Put a streetlight pole in the sidewalk, not behind it.

Create a tripping hazard/uneven rolling surface for wheelchair users by putting the utility box next to the pole in the sidewalk.

Make up for the misdeed of blocking the sidewalk by adding a crappy extension that places vulnerable pedestrians inches from deadly traffic.

Neglect the shoddy sidewalk extension, so it crumbles – but never fix it.

Repeat…dozens if not hundreds of times along your city’s should be walkable, historic main street corridor.