CLEAR SIGNAGE AND ELEGANT ACCESSIBLE DESIGN GO A LONG WAY
A restroom marked with bright and large accessibility signage says:
“You
belong."
"You
are welcome here."
"We want your business and will do our part to accommodate you.”
Kudos to
Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris for universal design that promotes
accessibility,
equity and inclusion.
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
David Salet is now 32. He graduated from Miam-Dade College, then Florida International University – with a degree in public administration and political science.
In Miami, he interned at the County’s Americans with Disabilities Act Office and worked in politics.
His current work in Montana is largely focused on speechwriting and
communications for politicians that are progressive and believe in upholding
and expanding the myriad laws and social safety nets that allow people with
disabilities to live inclusive, productive, dignified lives.
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
“Missoula is very progressive.
They do a ton of things for people with disabilities.
Even with the harsh winters, they keep the sidewalks and crosswalks clear.
You have to clear your sidewalk by early morning and if you don’t, the city cleans it and gives you a ticket.
That makes mobility possible,” she said.
“We are nature people.
We hike trails all over Missoula and greater Montana,” she said.
“Some are too bumpy, some are smooth and accessible to all. Glacier National
Park has tons of accessible trails and features and it’s only 2.5 hours’ drive
from us.”
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
“With kids, the No. 1 thing you have to do with them is when they get upset about something because they are having a rough time doing it, is showing them there are options, different approaches to getting things done,” she said.
“Coddling, and
I did that for a while, is ignoring the hurdle.”
Two years
ago, after much research, Folgueiras and David decided to leave the urban
madness and bad air (the city’s humidity and choked traffic exhaust is very bad
for David’s respiratory issues and vocal cords) of Miami for Missoula, Montana.
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
Traveling is big on their fun time list, but as anyone with SCI knows, it is difficult to move to a seat – often with risky assistance from poorly trained airline or ground crew prone to manhandle rather than assist a paraplegic person with care and dignity.
To this day, the family travels with a manual chair, because
airlines are infamous for destroying and even losing expensive, essential power
wheelchairs.
“Whomever is disabled, if they don’t have an advocate with a big mouth, they are in trouble,”
Folgueiras said, noting some salty language may slip into her
conversation with foolish waiters and other service people who either pretend
David is invisible, has the mind of the seven year old or will have his day
brightened by being patted on the head and patronized like a pet.
FOR OUR ADVOCACY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Thanks
Commissioner Manolo Reyes for recognizing our hard work including our creation
and team teaching of a groundbreaking course on Universal Design at the
University of Miami School of Architecture.
We were
humbled to be recognized in front of hundreds of our neighbors gathered at
historic William Jennings Bryan Park.
We appreciate
being recognized for a lifetime of work in public service, journalism, planning, education and
advocacy.
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
Folgueiras also said that family members must remember that when they become a very hands-on caregiver, they cannot ignore their own disabilities.
As an epileptic, Folgueiras knew it was essential to maintain her health.
So she minimized the things that trigger seizures.
Although stress and sleep deprivation can be
aggravators, she found that the focus she put on managing her career –
balanced with David’s recovery/ongoing care – actually reduced her seizure episodes.
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
“Mental health is one of the things I feel that everybody in a situation like this needs,”
Folgueiras said, noting that physical adaptations at home and school are obvious, but monitoring a primary caregiver’s mental well-being is just as important.
You have to have someone to talk this stuff out with.”
“(The parent of a newly-injured child goes through) a lot a suppression.
You squash down your feelings because you don’t want your child to see you hurting,” she said.
“My doctors told me I had to get rest. When I left the hospital at night, that
killed me.”
INACCESSIBLE
SUBWAY STATIONS BY 2055
Good
news...but:
I'll believe
it when I see it.
30+ years is
an eternity.
System
should have been accessible decades ago.
https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/mta-nyc-subway-accessible-stations-settlement/625940/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202022-06-23%20Smart%20Cities%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:42632%5D&utm_term=Smart%20Cities%20Dive
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
Folgueiras’ chief advice for the parent of a newly-injured child is to start modifying the family home while the person is in rehab – not waiting till the day they come home.
She was fortunate that the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program helped
with putting in a ramp, accessible bathroom fixtures, widening doorways and
installing a track on the ceiling to hold a harness that allowed David to move
about and into the shower.
David went
to Miami-Dade Public Schools with an assistant who attended all of his classes
and remains a close friend to this day.
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
Folgueiras, who added licensed massage therapist to her health care resume, always had respect for the medical field.
But her experience with negativity and ableism
hurt her deeply at a time when she was most vulnerable.
“They told me several times he wasn’t going to make it and if he did, he’d be a vegetable that won’t know who I am.
A female doctor, supposedly top in her field, told me to my face that I need to face the fact that I’ll be bringing home a vegetable,” she said.
“I’ve worked in the medical field.
You are frank, but you don’t talk like that.
You have to have empathy and compassion.”
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
The hour-plus wait between impact and arrival at a hospital robbed David of the “golden hour,” the precious time to immediately treat brain trauma and spinal cord injury (SCI).
Thankfully,
the passenger in the car that hit him was an ICU nurse and a group on a fishing
outing nearby happened to be composed of physicians.
“He was life flighted. He had to be revived three times.
He was in a coma for a month. He was in rehab a couple more months,” Folgueiras said of her precious little boy.
“He had spinal cord bleed.
He was deprived of oxygen.
He has respiratory and
other issues.”
OF AN INDIVIDUAL LIVING WITH SPINAL CORD INJURY
Ivette Folgueiras’ career as a medical assistant – first in geriatrics, then pediatrics – and involvement in Florida’s Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program exposed her to the caregiving and advocacy roles of family members of people with disabilities.
Her son
David’s nearly-fatal accident at age 10 – causing both C-3 spinal cord and
brain stem injury – put her into the driver’s seat of dogged advocate and
support system.
A bright, football-playing 5th grade Miami boy, David was on a fishing trip with his uncle deep in the Everglades in rural Collier County.
The boy darted into the road.
The impact with the vehicle nearly killed him.
UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND ILEANA RODRIGUEZ OF I DESIGN ACCESS
Ileana Rodriguez is Principal at I Design Access, LLC and an international architectural design consultant for major infrastructure projects with a focus on inclusive design.
We were
gratified to have her as a guest lecturer, via Zoom, to our groundbreaking
Universal Design course. We co-created and teach-teach the first-of-its-kind
class at the University of Miami School of Architecture.
She works
for clients such as the International Paralympic Committee, national sports
organizations and a variety of architecture firms.
Her projects
have taken place in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
The
Cuban-born, Miami-raised Rodriguez is a Paralympic swimmer and former member of
the USA Team for the London 2012 Games.
We look
forward to future collaborations with Ileana.
PROUD TO FOCUS ON MICROMOBILITY FOR THIS PRESENTATION AT THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022 IN SAN DIEGO
Creating an inclusive and accessible environment requires more than adhering to basic ADA requirements, avoiding ableist terminology, or providing closed captioning for city meetings.
These actions are important, but local governments must be dedicated to widespread accessibility and mobility.
Otherwise, micromobility for some — like scooters — creates outright travel hazards for more vulnerable pathway users.
Examine these and other common mistakes in planning for accessibility and learn how local governments can adopt a more comprehensive approach to accessible transportation and mobility for people with disabilities.
A CITY THAT LOVES ITS SIDEWALKS SERVES 100 PERCENT OF ITS CONSTITUENTS
Disability is a normal part of life.
WHO stats count more than 1 billion PWDs on earth and
one in five experiencing some level of disability.
Fixing
sidewalks, pathways and connectivity is the best way to boost quality of life
for PWDs.
Regulations
must be enacted to protect sidewalks from abandoned dockless scooters creating
impossible barriers on the sidewalk and its brethren curb ramp and cross walk.
Policy must
ensure that sidewalk funds are distributed to poor and marginalized
neighborhoods – not simply CBDs, tourist and influential areas.
Steve
Wright, Storyteller/Advocate/Educator/Planner
Wright has four decades of experience in urban design, planning, architecture, mobility, sustainability and universal design.
He co-created a groundbreaking universal design course at the University of Miami School of Architecture, team taught with his wife of 33 years – ADA expert Heidi Johnson-Wright.
Wright’s storytelling has advised dozens of clients on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility – with a focus on advocacy for people with disabilities.
His award-winning reporting frequently appears in Planning magazine and he has presented at FLA APA.
The Kent State graduate served as Urban
Policy Advisor to the Miami City Commission Chairman.
TIMELESS BEAUTY CREATED BY HECTOR GUIMARD
Nothing says
Paris and Art Nouveau quite like the stylized Metropolitain entrance signs.
Architect
Hector Guimard designed the first ones in the early 20th century.
The unsung
Guimard also designed a number of highly decorative apartments and houses in
Paris.
Most of the
Art Nouveau metro entrances are replicas, as the city destroyed many of the originals
in an ill-advised move toward a more modern look in the mid 20th century.
ABLE-BODIED DECISION MAKERS ONLY
A typical department of transportation project has a dozen expert subcontractors, from surveyors to landscape architects to lighting specialists to geotech experts.
With budgets
for corridor studies and construction projects in the millions of dollars, there
is room for one more expert: an accessibility expert with personal experience.
If cities
want to be inclusive, budgets must support site visits and reports crafted by
people who use wheelchairs for mobility — the only end users who truly
understand the hazards to mobility, as well as the simple, long-lasting
solutions that help clear the way.
A WALK BUTTON OUT OF ARM'S REACH
Pedestrians
love the little button to activate the red light for oncoming traffic while
triggering the walk sign for safe crossing.
Many, I'm
sure, would vote to double the crossing time from 30 to 60 seconds. Wheelchair
users would, too — but first they would simply like to be able to reach the
button in the first place.
Dozens of
state, city, and county roads have huge concrete bases around the large metal
poles where the button is located.
Big bases
mean wheelchairs cannot get close enough to put the button within arm's reach.
The Public
Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines, established by the U.S. Access Board,
states that the push button mounting height should be 3.5 feet above the
sidewalk.
The Access
Board, which writes built environment rules for ADA regulations, among other
duties, states that an unobstructed approach space around the push button
mounting post should be a minimum of 2.5 feet by four feet.
Cities
should also make sure the button is not mounted higher than the head of a
seated wheelchair user, or that trash and recycling cans or other obstructions
block access.
THE SENSELESS SIDEWALK CLOSURE
In South Florida (where I live) and many other growing regions, construction projects can close a full city block of sidewalk.
For example,
in Miami's Little Havana on the historic main street Calle Ocho, the entire
south sidewalk was closed for a city block for two years during construction.
Immediately
after it was opened back up, it was blockaded again for an adjacent development
site.
That means
for four years total, people living on the south side of that street heading to
a destination east of the closed sidewalk had to first cross the street north,
travel along the north side of the sidewalk, and cross south, then reverse that
sequence for the return trip.
That added
four dangerous exposures to three-lane, one-way traffic on a thoroughfare where
drivers are known to speed.
State
records report that 49 pedestrians and 18 cyclists were struck by cars, six
fatally, on a 20-block stretch of Little Havana's main street.
Scaffolding
on and over sidewalk can problematic, too, so make sure adequate temporary curb
ramps are built and the scaffolding structure doesn't obstruct or otherwise
narrow the travel path to less than four feet, the ADA's general sidewalk
requirement.
YOU HAVE HAD MY BACK FOR MORE THAN A THIRD OF A CENTURY
 |
Other times,
it is expressed through love, support, having your partner’s back in the most anguished
and challenging of times.
I love my
bride of 34 years, Heidi Johnson-Wright, for thousands of reasons.
During a
recent solo lecture tour in Europe, she proved why she’s been my soulmate of
more than a third of a century.
Unfortunately,
it was for the latter expression of love and support.
I was
hustling to change from the RER train for Charles de Gaulle Airport to the
Metro M6 to reach my hotel on Place Italie.
A trio of
men, all less than half my age, crash into me just as the subway doors are
closing.
I bash my
head on one the polls for standing riders to grasp and fall forward.
Even though
I was blindsided and injured, my only thoughts were on the wallet I neglected to
hide in my book bag. It was gone along with a lot of cash, all my credit cards
and other key documents.
Waiting a
few hours to get an English-speaking detective at a Paris Police station, I
called my indefatigable wife back in Miami and she assisted with canceling
credit cards and closing a now exposed bank account.
Heidi is the
point person for all things under the Americans with Disabilities Act in
Miami-Dade County and oversees several employees and assists dozens of ADA coordinators
in myriad departments.
She is a
very busy person, but took the day off to help me.
She wired
Euros to a Western Union near my hotel.
She added me
as a cardholder on one of her credit cards.
She reminded
me to put her card on my phone’s wallet app, so I could pay without the
confusion of lacking a physical credit card in hand.
She closed a
compromised joint checking account and started a new one.
When I
returned from working in Paris, Lyon and beyond – Heidi had one neat envelope
full of fraud squad correspondence, new credit cards and other important
documents such as a temporary medical ID card to replace the stolen one.
We
celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary yesterday.
Knowing
after all these years, that Heidi has my back in a time of crises – makes me
love her even more.
THE DANGEROUS CROSS SLOPE
Because street design often makes the car king at the peril of pedestrians, the ROW is made up of not just many lanes of traffic, but also curb cuts for driveways.
That often
means blocks and blocks of sidewalks broken up by dangerous cross slopes.
And the
accompanying tilt helps cars leave a driveway at an angle that meets the street
without bottoming out, but for wheelchair users, it can be uncomfortable at
best — and hazardous at worst.
It gets more
precarious when there is little-to-no ROW for the sidewalk, and things like
trash and recycling bins block the path, forcing wheelchair users to go out
into traffic to complete their journey.
The answer it to take back some of the traffic lanes for human beings.
Rather than a cross
slope in the sidewalk, it should be on the street side of the pedestrian way.
The driveway
can meet the five-foot-wide level sidewalk, then tilt down to the street.
THE MINI MEDIAN
Traffic calming has been in the pedestrian safety toolbox for a few decades, and many cities have shrunk their five-lane urban corridors into two lanes in each direction, with a median replacing the turn lane, creating a safe haven.
Many people
— wheelchair users, folks with children, slow walkers — cannot cross multiple
lanes of traffic in 30 seconds.
They might
need to stop midway, but if the median is too small or obstructed by lighting
or landscaping, cars making turns and heavy vehicle mirrors can put them in
danger.
The smallest
adult wheelchair is around four feet long and 30 inches wide.
That means
the safe haven, protected part of a median must be at least five feet wide to
allow for a turning radius and room to wait until it's safe to complete the
journey across the road.
THE CRAPPY CURB RAMP
One-size-fits-all is never the answer.
When cities put a single, narrow curb ramp at an intersection, it's more than uncomfortable — it's downright life-threatening.
Curb ramps must be at least three feet wide,
with no more than a 1 to 12 (8.3 percent) grade, according to ADA guidelines.
Local
conditions, like a high step up to the curb or a bike lane, might even call for
more thoughtful design.
Other curb
ramp issues include street furniture and other barriers on or at the top of the
ramp, flooding at the street edge due to poor drainage, and street repairs
where contractors demolish ramps, even temporarily.
Too-narrow
curb ramps force those who use wheelchairs, scooters, and other assistive
mobility devices to roll partway into oncoming traffic.
That can be
incredibly dangerous.
Think about
the height of a wheelchair user: The standard seat is 21 inches tall, placing
the user's midsection about the same height as an SUV (SUVs are exempt from the
maximum sedan bumper height of 20 inches).
Then think
about how high the driver of an SUV or truck sits.
A wheelchair
user needs to be seen to be safe, but depending on the vehicle and
intersection, some are completely obstructed from view.
An Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety found pedestrian traffic fatalities rose by 53
percent from 2009 to 2018.
The same
study found that at speeds between 20 and 39 mph, 30 percent of pedestrians
struck by SUVs died.
The best
solution is a pair of curb ramps at each corner: one aligned perfectly with the
painted north-south crosswalk, and the other matched to the east-west one.
The curbs
act as continuations of the sidewalk into the crosswalk.
A very wide,
continuous curb ramp that spans the entirety of a corner is also a best
practice.
THE BAFFLING BLOCKADE
Sidewalks have been shrinking since the automobile came on the scene, while perils for pedestrians have been increasing.
According to
a 2020 Bloomberg Citylab article, "current sidewalk deficiencies have
accumulated over decades of neglect.
In the
pre-automotive era, many cities had far more space for pedestrians," said
Arlie Adkins, a professor of urban planning at the University of Arizona.
"Since
the 1920s we've seen this explosion of driving, and there's been a competition
for fairly scarce real estate."
"There's
only so much space between buildings, and we've made some clear choices about
how that should be distributed," he told Citylab.
When an
already too-narrow sidewalk is obstructed, it's a recipe for disaster,
especially for wheelchair users.
Sidewalks
are frequently dotted with speed limit, no parking, and school crossing signs.
Huge poles
supporting traffic lights and street lights take their chunk out, too, while
junction boxes, clusters of utility vaults, and broken or sagging tree grates
impede accessibility.
And street
trees and planters are great, but not when they turn an otherwise sufficiently
wide thoroughfare into a pinch-point-impacted slalom course.
Beyond the
obvious of not allowing such obstructions in the newly built sidewalks,
planners can push for the creation of a clearinghouse for sidewalk data that
tracks the dozens of agencies and entities with a stake in the right of way
(ROW).
That way,
the county pole, the business improvement district's street furniture, and the
community redevelopment agency's wayfinding kiosk don't block the state
department of transportation's sidewalk.
THE SCRAWNY SIDEWALK
Wide sidewalks are a basic part of universal design.
They benefit
everyone: people pushing strollers, slow walkers, those who use crutches,
children on bicycles, and the army of delivery people wheeling goods in our
contactless commerce era.
The Federal
Highway Administration suggests a minimum sidewalk width of eight feet for high
pedestrian traffic areas, while noting that the bare minimum of four feet can
still force people into the roadway if a barrier is introduced.
The National
Association of City Transportation Officials, meanwhile, states that a minimum
width of five feet meets Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards but
recommends eight to 12 feet in downtown and commercial areas.
In practical
terms, a sidewalk must be at least six feet wide to allow two wheelchair users
to safely pass each other.
But in many
cases, even dense urban places with mixed-use development, sidewalks are barely
three to four feet wide.
The base
width might be around five feet, but the effective width is pinched to three by
parking meters, street furniture, power polls, waste baskets, bike racks, cave
in street tree grates, and other obstructions.
Take New York City for example.
Meli Harvey, a senior computational designer at Sidewalk
Labs, mapped the city and found that many side streets and corridors in
boroughs outside Manhattan are far too narrow — especially when a pandemic
requires us to stay six feet away from each other.
The
resulting tool shows vast areas of New York highlighted in red and orange
— color coded warnings for areas that are too narrow for social distancing, or
for those in assistive mobility devices to navigate comfortably and safely.
So how do we
fix this?
A road diet
paired with sidewalk fattening could help, as could removing obstructions,
especially if they're obsolete for current uses.
Some codes
allow a boost in floor area ration or height in return for the developer
creating extra sidewalk width along the frontage of the property.
Chicago, for
example, allows floor area bonuses, as determined by the zoning administrator,
for sidewalk widening.
The code also
gives an economic incentive to developers for other pedestrian-friendly
improvements like arcades and indoor/outdoor through block connections.
MISTAKES
TO AVOID AND BEST PRACTICES TO EMBRACE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE THAT MEETS
ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS
Street networks may not be glamorous, but they are essential to mobility.
That's
especially true for people with disabilities.
Dangerous crosswalks, misplaced (or steeply tilted) curb ramps, ubiquitous utility vaults, and countless other street and sidewalk obstructions can deny safe accessibility to wheelchair users.
You don't have to be a licensed
traffic engineer to find fault with much of this infrastructure.
Simply take a walk and roll with a
person who uses a wheelchair for mobility, and you will see how quickly poor
design makes it difficult, if not impossible, to connect to transit stops,
jobs, parks, shops, schools, and other essential daily destinations.
Universal Design what we should be aiming for, but there are 100 ways that even the most well-intended complete street can deny mobility to wheelchair users due to poor design, implementation, maintenance, and even policy.
FULL HOUR PODCAST DEBUTED THIS WEEK
FOCUSED ON DIGNITY IN
DESIGN
I was thrilled to live chat during the world premiere of my
Active Towns podcast with John Simmerman this week.
We talked about Universal Design and Planning for People with
Disabilities.
I got to share the good news of co-creating and team teaching a groundbreaking course on Universal Design at the University of Miami School of
Architecture.
In this episode, I connect with John to share my experience as journalist
and dignified mobility expert.
We discussed the need for detail in the design and construction
of our public spaces that work for everyone, All Ages & Abilities.
I'm subscribed to Active Towns profiles w/ John Simmerman--
please join me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGbYoGtwZQM
PROUD TO ANCHOR
THIS PRESENTATION AT THE AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2022
IN SAN DIEGO
People with limited abilities are often "designed out" of places, events, and activities.
Three
decades after adoption of the ADA, the COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the need
for planning for inclusion and equitable access and accepting the challenges of
safely separating users and uses.
COVID’s
silver lining may be renewed emphasis on safer pedestrian travel, transit, and
more open outdoor-recreation spaces.
Mobility
remains a sometimes-insurmountable challenge for people with disabilities.
Scooters,
bikes, and utilities often block wheelchair users and trip blind people.
Transit
access depends on compliant sidewalks with clear paths to accessible stops.
Ride-share,
mobility, and other first mile/last mile “solutions” are not accessible to
wheelchair users and many other disabled folks.
There are
always challenges to providing elegant designs that retrofit existing and
historic buildings and sites.
Often, the
only (inequitable) solutions offered put accessibility features in the back.
After thirty
years of halfway accessibility solutions, it is time for planners to address
equity and inclusion challenges.
THE SINGLE MOST CRITICAL PIECE OF INFRASTRUCTURE
Fabian De La
Espriella, AICP, principal of Miami-based Urbe Studio, has nearly two decades
of experience in transportation planning — and is a big fan of what sidewalks
provide, particularly when it comes to equity.
"Sidewalks are the single most critical piece of infrastructure when it comes to reducing disparities between communities, especially those that are currently underserved, which coincidently are also suffering from disproportionate pedestrian death rates," says De La Espriella, vice chair of APA Florida's Gold Coast chapter.
"This equity approach applies to sidewalks being of vital importance for people with disabilities, no-car households, children, and the elderly.
Sidewalks in some communities are key to getting access to
transit, food, parks, or schools."
Every
planning agency, local jurisdiction, and government official should prioritize
safe sidewalks, he says.
"Having
safe, healthy streets is part of increasing a city's competitiveness.
A key component to achieving this outcome is having safe sidewalks, which increase access and create a higher value place," he says.
"It is time that we
acknowledge the responsibility of transportation investments in increasing
equity in our communities, especially when it comes to sidewalks."
FIRST AND LAST MILE MVP
"You can build a premium bus stop with shelters and amenities, but if you can't get to it, the transit fails," says David Haight, FAICP, a planner and senior project manager with planning, design, and engineering firm Atkins.
"Without accessible sidewalks, transit doesn't work."
Apart from being wide enough to accommodate pedestrians with mobility aids like wheelchairs, accessible sidewalks should include pathways that don't flood, have crosswalks, and help people navigate from bus stops through parking lots to retail.
Designers should work to understand and match users' expectations,
too.
"People walk in a straight line.
They will try to cross — without the protection of a painted crosswalk or `walk' sign — rather than cross two additional lanes of busy traffic to get to the official crosswalk," he explains.
And at four-lane roads, a median should be large enough to serve as a haven for those who can make it only halfway to the other side of the street.
Otherwise, people
— some with kids, some using assistive mobility devices — are stuck on a tiny
piece of ground with huge trucks and speeding cars rushing by them.