WHEELCHAIR USERS IN DIVERSE PLACES ALL OVER THE WORLD
Internationally acclaimed linear green space created from a former elevated railway.
It features multiple elevators and ramps for wheelchair access.
OR BACK OF BUILDINGS ARE BIGOTED ABLEISTS. PERIOD.
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.
ARE ACCESSED BY ELEVATORS – FIX THIS MAYOR MAMDANI
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.
MOST ADDRESS HOW TO CREATE A BETTER BUILT ENVIRONMENT FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WHILE UPLIFTING URBAN QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL
I have shared travel images from nearly 50
major cities, where I have worked to increase awareness of Universal Design and
Inclusive Mobility.
While I have certainly posted on typical
resiliency, sustainability and green building techniques – I define sustainability
primarily as wheelchair access.
Because making something accessible from the
start creates a home, office, school, park, store, etc. – the most flexible,
adaptable and cost effective facility possible.
My posts have totaled well more than 1.3
million words.
That’s equal to the word count in 20
non-fiction books.
All of my content is posted free, virtually
always with my own images – drawn from an
archive of 40,000+ fine art photographs, some of which have been
featured at major galleries.
My blog has drawn more than 4 million unique
visitors, starting with a few dozen per day and now building to well more than
30,000 each day.
That number rivals the average daily paid digital
circulation of most major newspapers, including my hometown Miami Herald.
IT IS TOXIC ABLEISM
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.
PATH OF TRAVEL IS LEVEL, GENTLY GRADED, UNOBSTRUCTED & OVERALL OUTSTANDING & RAMPED/ELEVATOR ACCESS IS GOOD
This one is at 14th Street and 10th
Avenue.
At any given time, at least one
elevator is out of service.
NO, THEY ARE THERE BECAUSE THE SIDEWALK IS NOT SAFE
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.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY MUST FOLLOW SUIT, SO MAJOR COUNTY STREETS REMAIN BARRIER FREE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND ALL PEDESTRIANS
I applaud Commissioners for creating and sponsoring this
legislation.
After serving the District 3 constituents for nearly a
decade, my next career direction was marketing urban design and working as a
town planner.
My specialty is pedestrian access and mobility for people
with disabilities.
Cities that work are cities that remove barriers to
pedestrian safety.
Safe sidewalks protect children and elderly while greatly
increasing the economic outlook for mom and pop shops, restaurants and services
that depend on foot traffic in our urban city.
In my work around the world to promote wheelchair access, I have sadly shown a
segment of downtown Miami just west of the World Center where both sides of the
street are completely shut down for years of high rise construction.
Out of the 100 cities I have worked in, the both sides
blocked – between a billion dollar development and a billion dollar Bright Line
Train Transit system – was the worst example of pedestrian safety and mobility
for people with disabilities.
Other cities solve this by requiring scaffolding or other
ways of keeping sidewalks.
I returned yesterday from work in Manhattan.
I walked past more than 100 construction sites.
100% of the time, the sidewalk was maintained.
Miami MUST match NYC’s success at maintaining pedestrian
mobility.
This is crucial for people with disabilities.
People with disabilities are the most under and
unemployed of any minority group.
That is NOT because of their disability, it is because of
the obstructions that we allow that ruin sidewalk mobility and the access it
provides to transit.
Developers may say this is an onerous cost.
I say that anyone who puts the basic human rights and
dignity of disabled people to a cost benefit analysis is being shamefully
inhumane.
I urge the five Miami City Commissioners to approve this
unanimously, when it returns for second reading.
It can be the first step (ticketing and towing cars the
perpetually block sidewalks would be another huge boost to safety for disabled
veterans and others) toward Miami delivering the mobility its residents
deserve.
Read FR 1: https://miamifl.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=14&ID=3893&Inline=True
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.
THE CITY OF MIAMI NEEDS A NEW OFFICIAL FOR PEDESTRIAN, TRANSIT, MOBILITY
 |
| My opinion piece was originally published in the Miami Today Newspaper. I have created a groundbreaking Universal Design college course and lectured on mobility around the world. |
In
less than a year, three of its six elected positions have been filled with
leaders focused on delivering a high quality of life for Miami’s diverse
population.
Mayor
Eileen Higgins and Commissioners Rolando Escalona and Ralph Rosado campaigned
on a promise of making the city more consumer friendly and responsive to the
needs of the everyday people.
With
a new city manager and department heads under a new mayor, it’s an ideal time
to create the essential mobility officer position.
The
city of Miami has sidewalks, crosswalks, parks, paths and bike lanes – plus a
portion of the wonderful Underline. It is served by Miami-Dade County buses,
circulators, Metrorail and Metromover. Tri-Rail and the Brightline also figure
into the transit mix.
It
sounds like a wealth of services – but as anyone who has tried to get around in
Miami, there are horrendous gaps in the mobility network. Add in haphazard
construction (the city routinely allows developers to shut down essential
sidewalks for years of construction – even in its most dense urban
neighborhoods) and the system is not working for the well more than half a
million people who live and work in the Magic City.
 |
| Cars perpetually illegally parked on sidewalks -- destroying pedestrian and wheelchair user access at an historic City of Miami Park. Safe pathways to transit are frequently destroyed by illegal parking. |
Like many major cities, the people want mobility options – but we design, build and maintain a system that treats everyone who cannot drive a car as a second class citizen.
But
research has shown that upwards of one third of people cannot afford to drive
or cannot drive because of age (too young or too old) or disability.
Even
for those who can drive, the AAA estimates the total (purchase, maintenance,
fuel, insurance) cost of owning a car at $1,025 per month.
That
is a staggering figure in a city where one in five people live below the
poverty line.
It
is a brutal number when one considers that Miami is one of the most rent
challenged cities in America and studies have shown that more than half of its
households live virtually paycheck to paycheck.
Think
about the money that could go toward housing and other household needs– if a
family could swap more than $1,000 per month per vehicle – for a tiny fraction
of that spent on a transit pass and e-bike or scooter.
Of
all marginalized groups, people with disabilities are by far the most under-
and unemployed – but not because of their underlying disability.
The
CDC says one in for people will experience a disability that impacts their
daily living. Inclusive mobility is not an outlier for a special interest.
 |
| Sidewalks on both sides of the street closed for years of construction -- a violation of the ADA, a nightmare for wheelchair users and a living hell for all in the heart of Downtown Miam. |
Every
time: a sidewalk is blocked for six weeks when work could last a weekend, a
curbramp is flooded, an elevator to elevated transit is out of order for ages, a
safe pathway is blocked by a discarded e-scooter, a bus shelter is inaccessible
– a pathway to work is destroyed.
Sadly,
Miami often ranks as having some of the worst pedestrian death and series
injury statistics in the U.S.
Things
will only get worse. America is rapidly gaining. Soon, for the first time in
our nation’s history, there will be more people older than age 60 than younger
than 18. This means people with reduced mobility and reduced means will be
dependent on a seamless network of multimodal mobility.
There
are areas in Miami’s densely populated Central Business District where both
sides of the sidewalk are closed for years of construction. Simple scaffolding
would support both construction and safe sidewalks.
Miami’s
mobility is impacted by nearly a dozen divergent city, county and state
authorities, as well as redevelopment agencies, and private sector spanning
from for profit rail to taxies, rideshare and jitneys.
If
we are ever going to have humane, efficient, inclusive and equitable
transportation networks with world class walkability – we must have a chief
mobility officer.
Steve
Wright is an award-winning author, planner, educator, keynote speaker and
disability mobility advocate. He worked in public policy
for the city of Miami from 2002-2009.
https://www.miamitodayepaper.com/Miami-Today-02052026-e-Edition/6/
ILLUMINATED CROSSWALK STRIPS IN DOWNTOWN MEDELLIN
Crosswalk edges light up neon green to
tell pedestrians it is time to cross safely.
Most of these are in La Candelaria
Medellin Colombia — the congested and chaotic centro.
Alternately, the edge of crosswalks in
the urban core light up neon bright red — to signal pedestrians that it is not
safe to cross.
The red-green “walk” system helps
combat the ambient noise confusion created by motorcycles, cars and booming
music.
BUT MIAMI DOES NEXT TO NOTHING TO STOP IT
PASSAGEWAY BLOCKS WHEELCHAIR USERS
Dear City of Coral Gables.
Paseos do not work when they are blocked by tables and chairs when restaurants use them illegally for storage.
This perpetually destroys
mobility for people with disabilities on Giralda.
The trash can is highly symbolic.
It means merchants treat wheelchair users like trash.
Because they block the paseo with trash cans etc.
Ironically, this is one a pedestrian only corridor that should be great for people with disabilities.
How can
hundreds of city employees and officials walk past this every day and not see
this blocks those who use wheelchairs for mobility?
It took us pointing this out on social media for the city to address the long-festering problem.
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.
GRATIFIED TO BE PART OF THE EQUITABLE CITIES TEAM
WORKING WITH THE VIRGINIA WALKABILITY ACTION INSTITUTE
I was
thrilled to combine my passion for access and inclusion with my expertise in
creating a better environment for people with disabilities.
I was the featured
speaker for Universal Design Day with Virginia Walkability Action Institute
(VWAI).
It was hosted by Virginia's Department of Health through its PATHS partnership
with the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).
It’s a joy to work with Equitable Cities.
I’ve worked
with its founder Charles Brown on his Arrested Mobility podcast and with some
writing projects about equity in the public realm.
It was great
to work with Virginia point person Valeria Menendez on Equitable Cities, in historic
and artistic Richmond.
I led a 3.5
mile walk through Richmond to highlight Universal Design assets and challenges.
Assets included Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) with ramped boarding platforms with outstanding wheelchair access directly into buses that do not require lifts/ramps for smooth, inclusive transit.
Challenges included the pedestrian portion of a bridge over 195 -- a major highway.
There are no
curb ramps at the end of this viaduct – on two of the most major streets in the
entire region: Broad Street and Monument Avenue.
Cities, counties and regional authorities benefit from my “design for all” expertise.
Please contact
me to schedule my combination of walking/rolling pedestrian 3+ mile accessibility
tour plus workshop/keynote speech.
One in four
people experience some level of disability.
Hundreds of
thousands of your constituents and clients need my services.
AND OFTEN CAN BE DONE AT A LOW COST
I don’t have statistics, but common sense would also prove that when you increase walkability/rollability, thus connectivity to education, jobs, community activities – you increase earning power.
That increases income (and the tax roll) for people with disabilities.
In the United States,
people with disabilities are the most under- and unemployed of any marginalized
group.
Access in
the public realm isn’t just the right thing to do, it is sound public policy on
many levels.
AND OFTEN CAN BE DONE AT A LOW COST
Adding curb ramps, protected crosswalks, wider sidewalks and smoother surfaces can be blended into all of those complete streets, pavement repaving, mainstreet sidewalk enhancements and other public works projects.
When done
from scratch, rather than a retrofit to fix poor planning for accessibility,
the cost is rarely more than fractionally more costly than not building for
access for all.
AND OFTEN CAN BE DONE AT A LOW COST
Smooth, wide, safe, gently sloped surfaces also are beloved by those who wear heels (reduces tripping hazard) and the army of delivery people who wheel our daily online purchases to our doorstep.
I also want
to bust the myth that making something accessible (we call it compliant with
the Americans with Disabilities Act in the United States, but hundreds of
nations have similar law to make life better for people with disabilities while
protecting their civil rights) doesn’t mean busting the budget.
AND OFTEN CAN BE DONE AT A LOW COST
One in four, more than one billion – people have some kind of disability.
That is neither outlier or special interest, by any definition.
When you design something that makes it easier for a wheelchair user to move about your city –
you also have made pedestrian mobility better for young children,
elderly people, those with visual impairments and dozens of others (including
those who use scooters, walkers or crutches.)
AND OFTEN CAN BE DONE AT A LOW COST
When I see a design that serves everyone with equity and inclusion.
Ableists (wrongly) see something that blows up traditional placemaking for a “special interest.”
Experts around the world have proven that one in four people will experience some kind of disability in their lifetime.
There are more than one
billion people on earth who have a disability that impacts their daily lives.
