CURB EXTENSIONS MAKE THIS CROSSWALK SAFER FOR ALL
Kudos to these pedestrian friendly, super wheelchair accessible curb extensions.
They calm traffic while providing an
excellent route for people with disabilities across Meridian Ave. at Lincoln
Lane and just north of Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach.
Every Miami Beach official embrace this and bring it to hundreds of other intersections.
People with disabilities
depend on safe crosswalks.
BUT EVERY 10TH STREET HAS A POORLY DESIGN, TERRIBLY BUILT AND HORRIBLY MAINTAINED SIDEWALK
More than half of this sidewalk in a heavily pedestrian part of Miami Beach has a severe angle that makes it treacherous for people with disabilities.
It is on 16th St. at Lennox Ave. in Miami Beach.
Wheelchair mobility is virtually impossible.
Not only is the more level part closer to street (worse for pedestrian safety) but it also is an impossible route for wheelchair users -- because outside dining, valet stands and other obstructions block the pathway.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT HAS HUNDREDS OF REGULATIONS FOR CARS IN STREETS – BUT WE SHAMEFULLY HAVE VIRTUALLY NO REGULATIONS TO PROTECT PEDESTRIANS ON SIDEWALKS
This is the first delivery bot that I’ve seen that can back up.
When they don’t, it is catastrophic
for a wheelchair user. 90% of the bots that I have seen stop when a disabled
person approaches.
That blocks essential curb ramps and
narrow sidewalks.
The City of Miami, Miami-Dade County
and other cities MUST regulate these hogs of the sidewalk bots.
Only those programmed to back up out
of the way of people with disabilities should be allowed.
Wide, safe, lit, wheelchair accessible simple scaffolding to keep sidewalks open during construction.
What is so hard about this Miami?
How do we have this perfect solution
by Flagler St. — then allow both sides of the street to be closed a few blocks
north?
I am at a total loss for why Miami
officials do not require scaffolding to maintain sidewalks during years of
development construction.
Most solutions require tens of
millions of dollars.
This requires zero.
MIAMI CLOSE SIDEWALKS FOR YEARS WHILE PEDESTRIANS, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, RISK THEIR LIVES CROSSING THE STREET TO CONTINUE THERE JOURNEY
Is there something Miami’s water in
that turns big developers & major construction firms into incompetent
fools?
Because every city I have lived in +
every city I have visited — does not close sidewalks for 3 years of work.
How is it that gigantic, 50-story buildings
can be built everywhere else while maintaining sidewalks – but in Miami our
development community is incapable of this simple task?
In Miami, we kill pedestrian safety
for no reason.
There are 100s of American cities that
require developers to maintain sidewalks during construction.
Simple scaffolding preserves safe
mobility for pedestrians and independence for people with disabilities.
I HAVE DONATED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF PRO BONO UNIVERSAL DESIGN, PLANNING AND MOBILTY EXPERTISE
I have, for the past decade, set a goal of 500 hours per year of pro bono planning work. All of it is focused on Universal Design, as it increases mobility for people with disabilities, supports aging in place and creates diverse, inclusive communities.
I have exceeded my volunteering goal each year. I think it is incredibly rewarding to share my experience and expertise.
Sadly, the design and planning community often push back against the Americans with Disabilities Act and design for all.
Putting my passion into educating people about the huge upside -- well, it is a way of showing that planning is a calling, not just a profession, for me.
IT’S THE LAW. MIAMI BEACH IS VIOLATING IT
This bumpy, steep & horrible 20+ feet of tar pretends to be an ADA accessible sidewalk.
This is Lincoln Road at West Avenue in Miami Beach.
It must be fixed immediately.
Lengthy construction means temporary sidewalks and ramps must be compliant.
It’s the
law.
WHEELCHAIR USERS CANNOT SEE WHAT’S COMING BEFORE CROSSING BUSY ALTON ROAD AND LINCOLN ROAD IN MIAMI BEACH
Every wheelchair user’s safety is threatened by bollards along Lincoln Road at Alton Road in Miami Beach.
The car in the photo is a lane over.
It’s impossible to see what’s coming
north on the closest lane.
We all know Miami drivers run red
lights serially.
The bollards are there on the one in 1
in 10 million chance that a terrorist drives onto Lincoln Road.
In an urban area that consistently
rates as one of the most dangerous for pedestrians, the odds of an accident
because of the bollards are probably 1 in 10,000.
Very bad planning guards against the extreme
outlier while ruining independence, inclusion, mobility and dignity of all
people with disabilities.
THESE MACHINES DO NOT BACK UP
OR MOVE OUT OF
THE WAY OF WHEELCHAIR USERS
My worst fear came true in Miami Beach
near Lincoln Road.
I walked up & even pushed this—it
didn’t budge.
I tested another in Coral Gables near
Miracle Mile.
It stops when it detects motion, but
it blocks the sidewalk.
Do all of these endanger the lives of
wheelchair users by pushing them into the street?
Has not one city official cared enough
to demand that these are programmed to retreat and clear the sidewalk path wide
enough for a wheelchair user?
THAT DELIVERS FREEDOM,
INDEPENDENCE, MOBILITY AND DIGNITY?
“I’d rather die than use a
wheelchair,” says the bigoted woefully ignorant ableist.
The same person ironically jumps into
a sedan to drive 10 miles — because that wheeled machine covers more ground
more quickly than his body.
Assistive mobility devices are
liberating.
HOW TO DETECT ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES IN ANY PROPERTY
My five minute video is online, unlocking
the value of Universal Design for millions of viewers.
Viewers learn practical tips for recognizing
modifications and opportunities that make a property accessible for people with
disabilities.
From doorways and kitchens to bathrooms, pools and parking, my expert insights help REALTORS better serve a broader range of clients.
I spoke at the Florida REALTORS
statewide convention last year.
Florida has more REALTORS than any other state
-- even more than giant California.
For two decades, I have written cover stories
and center spread features for On Common Ground, a smart growth publication of
the National Association of Realtors.
Many of my stories have featured
groundbreaking Universal Design and wheelchair access insights.
 |
I also crafted a first of its kind, hourlong
visual and verbal presentation of Universal Design, Aging in Place and enhancing
wheelchair access – for the Ohio REALTORS.
My unmatched Universal Design and Town Planning expertise has been featured in far more than 100 articles, webinars, podcasts, radio/television interviews and books.
https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/video-library/learning/how-detect-accessibility-features-any-property
NEVER BACKING DOWN
I have been blogging daily for more
than a decade.
Sometimes I have posted beautiful
photos from exotic travel.
Certainly this space has served as a
bully pulpit to scold lousy government services and terrible companies.
A few times, I have shared photos of
my cats – or tragically, a tribute to one who went over the Rainbow Bridge.
But more than 90 percent of my posts
are related to disability advocacy.
Most of those point out flaws in the
built environment.
With all due respect, our planners,
architects, engineers, builders and municipalities that regulate them have had
more than a third of a century under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
to get it right.
But the vast majority continue to push
back, resist and even go to court to try to get out of the responsibility of observing
federal civil rights legislation that guarantees equal access for people with disabilities.
Hundreds of local governments – and related
transit, redevelopment and similar agencies – still design sidewalks, parks,
buildings, transit systems, airports and much of the built environment in ways
that isolate and dehumanized people with disabilities.
Sadly, with a plethora of lawsuits
against the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a stacked Supreme
Court may strip away basic dignity and independence of people with
disabilities.
Not only is a level playing field a
basic human right. But it also makes economic sense.
In addition to the staggering loss of
dignity and quality of life, it costs trillions to warehouse people instead of
mainstreaming them.
It costs dimes on the dollar to create
inclusive spaces and places.
Once that is done, the rampant under-
and unemployment of people with disabilities can become a thing of the past.
Catastrophically, our White House,
Senate and Congress and far too many governors and state legislators --
seem hellbent on reducing the inclusion gained under nearly 35 years of the ADA.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is the
very definition of a Democracy – it is the core fiber of what it means to be in
the United States. But the savage right wing would like to reframe DEI as
something as loathsome as fascism.
This blog will never back down from championing
DEI, especially in the lens of disability.
Not even if it costs me clients and
work.
Not even if it places me in the
crosshairs of an authoritarian government goose stepping its way toward a Nazi
police state.
I will risk my nest egg, career and
freedom – defending my right to underscore ableism and other treacherous acts
of hatred toward the disability community.
Give me the liberty to be an ally, or
give me death.
CONSTRUCTION THAT CREATES BARRIERS DESTROYS INDEPENDENCE AND DIGNITY FOR THOSE WHO USE ASSSTIVE MOBILITY DEVICES
The triumph
and failure of cities can be evaluated in the way they accommodate the
vulnerable pedestrian population.
In the case
of Miami, its inhumanity shows abject failure.
This is the gateway between two of Miami’s biggest icons — the waterfront
skyscraper Brickell district and culturally vibrant historic Little Havana.
Yet it
blocks people with disabilities and is a tripping hazard to all with bumpy
crappy asphalt.
This is an
Americans with Disabilities Act violation.
Barriers created by construction then neglected for ages strip all independence and dignitiy for those who uses wheelchairs for mobility.
