PARIS’ METRO SHOULD BE WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE

THE WEALTHY CITY MUST DEDICATE MONEY TO RETROFITTING THE OLD BUT ESSENTIAL SYSTEM

Like most visitors, I love using the Paris Metro system.

Locals don’t just love it – they depend on transit to get to work, school, healthcare and much more.

I encourage city leaders to increase wheelchair access for tenfold.

I’m tired of the worn out excuse that buses are accessible, so the subway does not need to be.

It can easily take an hour by bus to cover a distance that only takes 10 or 12 minutes by Metro.

That is not equality.

You would think in a city where the mayor and a significant number of mayors of the 20 arrondissements are socialists, they would wisely invest billions in tourism revenues to solve the social problem of grossly unequal mobility for wheelchair users and others with disabilities.

HOPEFULLY, THE BEING HEUMANN BIO FILM ON JUDITH HEUMANN WILL RAISE DISABILITY AWARENESS

WE NEED MORE DEPICTION OF DISABILITY IN THE PERFORMING ARTS

Would love to know the story behind this live play at Theatre Antoine in Paris.

I certainly enjoy disability inclusion in the performing arts.

AIRLINES HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO TO TRULY SERVE WHEELCHAIR USERS

AIRPORTS MUST ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Gratified to see well-displayed disability services hubs in each terminal at Orly Airport Paris.

I have seen the same, as well as very accessible restrooms at Charles de Gaulle airport Paris.

Kudos.

PUBLIC TRANSIT IS A GAME CHANGER FOR MOBILITY, HOUSING, EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, RECREATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE METRO SYSTEMS MUST ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

METRO SYSTEMS MUST ACCOMMODATE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES 

Glad to see poster (on Paris M14 line to Orly Airport) supporting wheelchair access on train transit.

Sadly, a tiny fraction of other Metro lines have elevator access. I hope transit operator/authority RATP and IDFmobiilites improve this.

MAMDANI WILL REBUILD THE BQE TO LAST UNTIL 2080

DESPITE CALLS TO TEAR IT DOWN

All I can think of is tens of thousands of people with disabilities virtually trapped because of terrible sidewalks, crosswalks, curbramps in NYC.

I thought Mamdani is the mayor of the marginalized. 

This action makes him more like the lobbyist for the more than trillion dollar per year auto industry.

$4 billion in pedestrian/wheelchair mobility is game changing. 

Spent on an expressway = failure.

https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2026/08/24/mamdani-bqe-plan-august-2026?utm_source=streetsblog-nyc.beehiiv.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=the-triple-cantilever-is-here-to-stay

GRATIFIED TO BE A FEATURED EXPERT SPEAKER

AT STARKLOFF DISABIILITY INSTITUTE UNIVERSAL DESIGN SUMMIT

I have delivered more keynote speeches and featured presentations than I can count.

All share my advocacy and expertise on Universal Design and building a better built environment for people with disabilities.

My upcoming appearance incorporates my award-winning journalism and marketing experience.

My presentation, in November, in St. Louis:

Steve Wright, Universal Design Journalist — From DEI to ROI: Rebranding the Endless Benefits of Universal Design in an Era of Political Pushback.

Hope you meet me in St. Louis.

https://starkloff.org/universal-design-summit

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

SUPER DISABILITY FRIENDLY, UNIVERSAL DESIGN VANGAURD

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.

MIAMI BEACH SHOULD BE SOUTH FLORIDA’S MOST DISABILITY-FRIENDLY CITY

BUT EVERY 10^TH 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.

THE CITY OF MIAMI’S AND MIAMI-DADE COUNTY’S MOBILITY PRIORITIES ARE UPSIDE DOWN AND DO NOT SAFEGUARD PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

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.

MAINTAINING SIDEWALKS DURING CONSTRUCTION IN THE RIGHT THING TO DO

CLOSING SIDEWALKS FOR YEARS VIOLATES THE ADA AND EVERY MORAL OBLIGATION TO SAFE MOBILITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES PLUS ALL PEDESTRIANS YOUNG AND OLD

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.