ALL DRIVERLESS VEHICLE TRANSIT PROTOTYPES MUST ACCOMMODATE WHEELCHAIR USERS

AN OPEN LETTER TO USDOT SECRETARY PETE BUTTIGIEG.

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

Why doesn't USDOT (and all other relevant agencies) require all robotaxis/driverless rideshare vehicles to accommodate power wheelchair users? Every prototype I've seen is a sedan.

This is as bad as granting highway dollars to an agency the will not allow people of color to drive on its roads.

It is discriminatory to allow autonomous fleet vehicle firms to roll out "innovative" transportation that excludes people with disabilities.

Imagine an airline that says it will ban women for a decade -- until it figures out how to accommodate them on their new planes.

I have great respect for what USDOT, under your leadership, is being done for air travel for people with disabilities.

I think you are an excellent people-first, inclusionary leader.

But I think the ball is being dropped on ableist transit alternatives.

https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2023/12/02/robotaxis-wont-get-us-there-so-lets-stop-being-used-to-sell-a-future-that-doesnt-serve-us/

IF YOUR COUNTY DOESN’T WORK FOR EVERYONE, IT WORKS FOR NO ONE

SHAMEFUL THAT BROKEN ELEVATORS DESTORY RAIL TRANSIT ACCESS 

FOR WHEELCHAIR USERS FOR MONTHS TO YEARS

It is incredibly embarrassing when your county is hosting a nationwide conference of transportation officials -- but your rail lines have had elevators out for years and some will not be repaired till 2025.

While co-leading a tour and meeting with friends, dozens of top tier planners complained about the broken elevators and the devastating impact on people with disabilities.

They were attending the nationwide National Association of City Transportation Officials hosted by Miami-Dade County.

Lack of planning ahead for maintenance and glacial pace of repairs - -is a black eye for a city that could have shined while hosting NACTO.

Please, County mayor and commissioners, stop treating people with disabilities like second class.

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

Dehumanizing people with disabilities by seeking waivers and variances that would exclude them is as off base and bigoted as asking your human resources director if the fourth Tuesday of each month can be “Civil Rights-Free” day, so you can harass or fire workers on the basis of race, gender, orientation, religion. 

Subjecting human and civil rights to a cost benefit analysis is never the right approach — and it’s time we all open our eyes, see the problem, and become a part of the solution. 

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

Far too many people responsible for designing our built environment leave disability out of the conversation because no one on the planning and implementation teams belongs to the disability community. 

Far too many others mistake the ADA for a type of building code — which can and should allow for waivers and variances under certain circumstance — rather than the iron-clad, non-negotiable, federal civil rights legislation that it is. 

I could fill a large room with people who have shamelessly asked me “Hey, Steve, you work with people with disabilities and design; how can I get away with having no ramp at the entrance to my new building? 

How can we avoid the cost of an elevator?”

Even if that building is, of all things, a four-story medical office. 

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

Along with being the most sustainable, flexible, durable and cost-effective approach to planning and building, Universal Design gives people with disabilities a better shot at dignity and independence. 

People with disabilities are by far the most under-employed and unemployed and impoverished of all marginalized groups, in part because of barriers to their mobility in many workplaces, even in brand new buildings constructed long after the passage of the ADA. 

Less than one percent of housing stock, meanwhile, is move-in ready for people who use wheelchairs.

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

The massive task of redesigning housing, parks, transportation, the workplace and much more to allow people to age in place is already one of the greatest challenges of the 21^st century.

And Universal Design — the concept of making our world more welcoming, comfortable and easy to use by everyone — is the framework through which we can confront it.

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

But people with disabilities are not outliers, and designing for a wide variety of needs is not a constraint. 

The CDC has documented that one in four Americans have a permanent disability, and the United Nations has estimated that 1.3 billion have a significant disability, too. 

And those numbers aren’t likely to go down, especially as our population ages. 

By 2030, one in six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over, and the World Health Organization expects the sheer number of people over that age to double to more than 2.1 billion by 2050.  

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

I’ve seen cities spend hundreds of millions of dollars on sports arenas and stadiums to enrich billionaire owners, all while claiming to have no money to repair broken sidewalks, replace missing ones, and fix curb ramps that flood every time it rains.  

I’ve seen developers cut corners to save dollars, and met far too many architects, engineers and planners who seem to resent the ADA as something constraining. 

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

I’ve seen wheelchair ramps tucked into the backs of major office buildings far from the main entrance, leading to locked doors with no way of alerting the occupants to come open it.

I’ve seen cities allow outdoor lifts as the only means of egress/ingress into a major public space like a library, only to see those lifts get broken within a month and never get repaired — much less replaced with a ramp.

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

I’ve seen micromobility companies flood the streets with dockless scooters, without anyone requiring them to build marked docking stations out of the pedestrian pathway, or hire round-the-clock staff to remove scooters that block sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalks, transit stops and building entrances. 

I’ve seen cities bow to developers who want to build fewer than the required number of units accessible to people with disabilities, even when that housing is publicly funded. 

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

I’ve seen cities close a sidewalk for two to three years of construction --

forcing people with disabilities to cross dangerous traffic four times just to run an errand on the same side of the street.

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

Over the course of my career working in all aspects of planning, I’ve seen ableist design in virtually every city I’ve spent more than half a day in — and despite 33 years of the ADA, a lot of it was “technically compliant.” 

I’ve seen final building plans where the accessible restroom is too small, the hand dryer is mounted far out of reach of a wheelchair user, and the grab bars are in the wrong place and blocked by a waste receptacle. 

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

As I transitioned from daily urban affairs journalism to a career in public service as a senior urban policy advisor in Miami, I’d often politely point out accessibility barriers to city planners, architects, engineers, public works, transit and capital projects department heads.  

“But it’s technically compliant,” they’d bark back.

 “We passed inspection.

It meets the building code.” 

“If you broke your leg, and the emergency room handed you a bandage and two aspirin and said, ‘We’ve given you medicine; now go home,’ would you be happy?” I’d reply.   

WHY AMERICAN CITIES STILL AREN’T ACCESSIBLE AFTER 33 YEARS OF THE ADA

THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT HAS MADE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT — BUT THERE'S SO MUCH MORE LEFT TO BE DONE

The Americans With Disabilities turned 33 this year.

A third of a century for the farthest-reaching federal civil rights legislation for people with disabilities ever passed in the history of our nation. 

I have covered the disability community since before the passage of the ADA. 

When it first became law, I thought that, surely, three decades later, attitudes would have changed. 

And they have a bit — but not nearly enough. 

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY

THIS WEEK, I GAVE THE GIFT OF ADVOCACY FOR

CREATING MORE INCLUSIVE/ACCESSIBLE CITIES

I was honored Wednesday to moderate a Vision Zero Cities panel.

Four experts came together to talk about sidewalks, transit and transportation that can better serve the one in four people in America who have disability that impacts their daily living.

Hosted by the Transportation Alternatives Organization and attended by hundreds, the panel was titled: Creating Inclusive Spaces: Towards Accessible Cities hosted by Transportation Alternatives.

I was joined by the brilliant:

Eman Rimawi Doster, Executive Director of Diversity Includes Disability.

Anna Zivarts, who runs the Disability Mobility Initiative for Disability Rights Washington.

Prashanth Venkataram, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Davis.

I probably talked to much for a moderator, but I’m passionate about Inclusive Spaces, Accessible Cities and Disability Inclusion.

Planners, transportation pros, architects and all civic designers need to make Universal Design a core part of their approach.

HONORED TO HAVE 275,000 UNIQUE READERS

BLOGGING DAILY – FOR A DECADE – ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY, INCLUSION, EQUITY AND DIVERSITY

I am proud to have so many people checking out and sharing the stories on my blog.

It started out as a way to share my travel images and thoughts on urban design.

I quickly added advocacy for people with disabilities – which certainly is crucial to accessible travel and barrier-free urban design/town planning.

Over the years, I have gotten more aggressive about calling out poor design that creates barriers for wheelchair users.

I have pointed out how this nation still lacks affordable, accessible housing – despite living more than three decades under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The stories also have shared best practices for urban design, architecture and transportation mobility – gleaned from my articles in leading publications such as Planning, New Mobility and On Common Ground magazines.

I love sharing images from the backstreets of Turkey, Morocco, Egypt and other locales in Europe, South America and beyond.

I have made more than 3,000 blog posts.

That’s enough to fill four full-length books.

Thanks to everyone for following this blog and sharing its ideas.

RIDESHARE MUST BE 100 PERCENT INCLUSIVE

PLEASE TAKE THIS SURVEY TO GIVE INPUT ON WHEELCHAIR USER EXPERIENCE WITH UBER AND LYFT 

I'm promoting very important research on accessibility with rideshare.

My brilliant colleague needs input on Uber and Lyft.

Wheelchair users, family members, caregivers, etc. can give valuable input.

The app-based gig economy MUST not be allowed to exclude the disability community.

Please click on the link below and take the survey.

Please share this with those who can give valuable input.

From my friend and colleague Mahtot Gebresselassie, at Virginia Tech:

I'm researching #accessibility of Uber/Lyft & looking for participants anywhere in the US. R u/do u know former/current #wheelchair user? Experience w Uber/Lyft not a must to participate. I want to know impressions too. #a11y #Transportation #Disability 

https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6rsUle54qKYYWqx?SC=TW

https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6rsUle54qKYYWqx?SC=TW

LITTLE HAVANA ME IMPORTA

SURVEY / ENCUESTA: On PlusUrbia Design website.

http://plusurbia.com/survey-encuesta-little-havana-me-importa/ 

THANK YOU for helping to plan your community!

Your input in this survey will be used to guide a masterplan for the future of Little Havana, including transportation, parks and open space, new infill development, and adaptive reuse of existing buildings.