EVERY CITY SHOULD HAVE AVENUES WITH SIDEWALKS AS WIDE AS NEW YORK’S

MIAMI’S TYPICAL SIDEWALK, EVEN IN IT’S MOST DENSE URBAN AREAS, IS NOT EVEN HALF AS WIDE AS MANHATTAN’S

The width on the older parts of Lexington Avenue is 13 feet.

New buildings provide 20 feet of sidewalk width, as per updated zoning rules.

This provides a safe path of travel for wheelchair users and all pedestrians.

Wide sidewalks provide space for outdoor café seating, bike racks, benches, waste receptacles, signs and other urban needs – while still providing more than six feet of unobstructed pedestrian pathway.

Along with safety, wide sidewalks encourage people to visit mom and pop visits and to take in the beautify of the city.

Here, the sculptural Chrysler Building shrouded in fog and framed by the polished awning and unfurled flag of the equally splendid Waldorf Astoria.

We love the walkable, rollable sidewalks – that serve early 20th century NYC Art Deco architecture.

KUDOS TO HOTEL EDISON TIMES SQUARE NEW YORK

FOR HAVING A LINK DEDICATED TO ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES

Hotel Edison is an Art Deco gem in the heart of New York’s Theater District. 

Thomas Edison turned on the lights when the 26-story, 1000 guest room hotel opened in 1931.

It now has 810 guest rooms, with 23 designed for accessibility.

Trivia note: scenes from The Godfather & Birdman were filmed there.

Here’s the link to details on access at the historic property that turns 100 in five years:

https://www.edisonhotelnyc.com/accessibility?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20139307422&gbraid=0AAAAADO5I2SIqJWQ583JGDq31VGqO1a86&gclid=CjwKCAjwmozTBhAeEiwAkEGZzmuXr5jMWUNiF9A3386IZHZES_L001gak8yIKncyh8fOYpw78lrRHxoC0vgQAvD_BwE 

PARKING THAT BLOCKS THE SIDEWALK IS MORE THAN AN INCONVENIENCE

IT PUSHES DISABLED PEOPLE AND PEDESTRIANS INTO TRAFFIC

MIAMI TRAFFIC, EVEN ON A SIDE STREET, CAN EQUAL A DEATH SENTENCE

Blocking sidewalks is a serious matter.

This is Andrew Loretta, a beloved father of 2 children.

He was killed in a hit-and-run crash while jogging in the street in Shenandoah a year ago.

People run and walk in the street when sidewalks are broken, missing or obstructed.

Cars frequently block the sidewalk on the south side of historic William Jennings Bryan Park in the Shenandoah section of Miami.

This destroys wheelchair access and safe pedestrian mobility.

Violators MUST be ticketed and towed.

But 99% of Miami police walk around pleading with people to move.

This inspires lawbreaking.

Heavy fines and towing would stop illegal sidewalk parking.

Those who block the sidewalk with their cars are a prime example of selfish, dangerous Car Brain.

I point out the danger to people with disabilities.

They say "I have nowhere else to park."

Mind you, most violators are driving less than 10 blocks--a distance they could walk.

Deplorable.

NEW YORK MAYOR MAMDANI, PLEASE DO THE MAXIMUM FOR ACCESSIBILITY

HUNDREDS OF CURB RAMPS AND CROSSWALKS 

ARE NOT WHEELCHAIR FRIENDLY

This is one of many shamefully neglected crosswalks at Madison Avenue and East 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan.

Shoddy layers of pavement and potholes create tripping hazards for pedestrians and mobility barriers for wheelchair users.

A SECRET PARK AT THE SOUTHERN TIP OF MANHATTAN

A+ ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AT THE ELEVATED ACRE

The Elevated Acre is a hidden, one-acre public park in Manhattan's Financial District, located above street level at 55 Water Street, accessible for pedestrians via an escalator.

It offers a quiet escape with panoramic views of the East River & Brooklyn Bridge

The Elevated Acre features mostly wheelchair accessible terrain with a lawn, amphitheater, benches + raised boardwalk.

ADA access is via the 55 Water Street lobby.

Use the building's elevators to travel to the acre.

I CELEBRATED AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY IN CONEY ISLAND

ON AN INCLUSIVE, WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE RIDE

Deno's Wonder Wheel one minute before 11 a.m. opening July 4, 2026.

The famous Coney Island attraction is fully wheelchair accessible via stationary cars with level boarding.

A tunnel from the Coney Island Boardwalk to the historic Deno’s Wonder Wheel provides an accessible route to the $10 per ride Brooklyn landmark.

INTRODUCING A TRIPPING HAZARD IS NOT GOOD MOBILITY DESIGN

REMOVE BUMPY SURFACES THAT ENDANGER WHEELCHAIR USERS

It’s time to say goodbye to the pavers that are a wheelchair mobility hazard on the sidewalk hugging Central Park on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.

A smooth, pedestrian friendly surface is urgently needed.

DISABILITY VISIBILITY PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT

WHEELCHAIR USERS IN DIVERSE PLACES ALL OVER THE WORLD

Disability Visibility Project: The High Line New York. 

Internationally acclaimed linear green space created from a former elevated railway. 

It features multiple elevators and ramps for wheelchair access.

ARCHITECTS THAT WANT TO HIDE WHEELCHAIR RAMPS TO THE SIDE

OR BACK OF BUILDINGS ARE BIGOTED ABLEISTS. PERIOD.

Wheelchair ramps are an abomination.

They ruin the façade.

Fire escapes.

So sculptural, they enhance the façade.

If the same architect makes both of these statements, they hate disabled people.

Only ableists reject access ramps.

BARELY 25% OF NEW YORK’S ESSENTIAL SUBWAY TRAINS

ARE ACCESSED BY ELEVATORS – FIX THIS MAYOR MAMDANI

The MTA's 2025-2029 Capital Plan commits nearly $7.1 billion to station accessibility.

This phase of the plan will make 60 additional stations newly ADA-accessible while modernizing dozens of older elevators.

Long overdue.

The MTA is not under the New York mayor’s office, but its high profile progressive Mayor Mamdani MUST ensure this work does not fall behind.

FAULTY CURB RAMPS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE

THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO INCLUSIVE MOBILITY WITH DIGNITY

Too much patchwork, narrow & dangerous curb ramp in one of the busiest places in Manhattan.

E. Union Square & E. 16 St. — next to the Union Square subway station, the 4th busiest in all of New York.

Mayor Mamdani must make wheelchair access a priority.

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.

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

“THAT SILLY WHEELCHAIR USER IS PLAYING IN THE STREET/BIKE LANE”

NO, THEY ARE THERE BECAUSE THE SIDEWALK IS NOT SAFE

99 times out of 100, when a wheelchair user takes the bike lane instead of the sidewalk—risking injury from cyclists/adjacent traffic—

the sidewalk is buckled, blocked or otherwise obstructed.

LES— Chrystie & Stanton. 

Sure hope NYC Mayor Mamdani's campaign to go to bat for the marginalized includes  millions of disabled constituents.

CITY OF MIAMI COMMITS TO KEEPING SIDEWALKS PROTECTED AND OPEN DURING CONSTRUCTION

NO MORE CLOSED SIDEWALKS FORCING WHEELCHAIR USERS AND ALL PEDESTRIANS TO UNNECESSARILY CROSS DANGEROUS TRAFFIC

“…the City Commission approved our legislation requiring overhead pedestrian protection instead of simply closing sidewalks during construction.

Thank you to my colleagues who co-sponsored this important safety and quality-of-life initiative.” -- Miami City Commissioner Damian Pardo.

Kudos to Commissioner Damián Pardo and fellow Miami City Commissioners for approving this.

It is a crucial element of mobility for people with disabilities. 

I was proud to discuss this with Commissioner Pardo during a Miami DDA downtown block walk, to offer Universal Design insights to Alexandra Alexieva and to speak about the economic benefits of a walkable city in front of Mayor Eileen Higgins and the Commission at the first reading of this legislation.

I stand with this leadership to convince Miami-Dade County to adopt similar legislation to prevent the dangers of closed sidewalks on County streets.

 

ALL MOBILITY DEVICES ARE COOL

WHEELCHAIRS = FREEDOM, NOT LIMITATION

Industrial Designer Kazuo Kawasaki's goal was to create a wheelchair that felt as good, and looked as cool, as the newest pair of sneakers.

The Carna, on display at MOMA, is colorful & has high–tech style.

Since it had to be light and easy to carry, an improvement over most collapsible wheelchairs, Kawasaki used a titanium frame, with aluminum honeycomb–core wheels and rubber seat and tires.

DANGEROUS BY DESIGN

UNTIL MIAMI LEADERS CARE ABOUT PEDESTRIAN SAFETY --                    FATALITIES ARE A MATTER OF WHEN AND HOW MANY, NOT IF

Photo shared on Nextdoor public forum

This gruesome picture is a human being in the throes of death.

It was posted on Nextdoor by a neighbor.

She lost the father of her child and ex-husband to a hit and run driver.

Raul Daizi was struck while crossing the major Miami intersection of Coral Way and 27th Avenue.

He and his family suffered in agony for nearly two weeks, before he succumbed.

I have lost multiple neighbors to dangerous design and lax enforcement on greater Miami’s mean streets.

Certainly, a hit and run driver is at fault.

But I also blame the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County for designing dangerous streets -- built for cars to drive as fast and recklessly as possible.

The safety of pedestrians is way down on the priority list.

Plus, very few of our police will  ticket speeders and out of control drivers. 

I've seen people make left turns out of the far right, blast through red lights 30 seconds after it has turned full red -- with cop cars right next to me.

They do nothing.

Finally, when people behind the wheel kill -- our judicial system acts like it is an accident, not a person driving like a maniac with intent to kill anything in the way.

If we elect mayors and commissioners who care about human beings on foot, on bike, using wheelchairs or crutches -- we will stop losing our loved ones.

Until then, the blood of pedestrian killing and maiming is on the hands of leaders who allow our roads to be intentionally dangerous by design.

We could take giant steps to fix this, if we dedicated a full-time person to protect pedestrian mobility:

https://urbantravelandaccessibility.blogspot.com/2026/02/create-chief-mobility-officer.html