Reluctant Towns, Cities and States Are Being Dragged Into Court to Fix Sidewalks for People With Disabilities

From her Baltimore dining room, Susan Goodlaxson can see her neighbor gardening across the street. But while other neighbors stop to chat, Goodlaxson just watches from the window. She uses a wheelchair, and there isn’t a single curb ramp on her block. If the 66-year-old wanted to join, she’d have to jump her wheelchair down the 7.5-inch curb and risk a fall. Ditto if she wanted to wheel over to the library, a trip that would require riding in the street to avoid rampless curbs and broken sidewalks. “I don’t feel like it’s asking too much to be able to move your wheelchair around the city,” Goodlaxson says. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Federal law backs her up. Since 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has required government entities to provide people with disabilities access to programs and services enjoyed by their nondisabled peers. That includes sidewalks and curb ramps that make it possible to safely cross the street. In Baltimore and many other communities across the U.S., there has been widespread noncompliance with this part of the law. “An awful lot of [communities] have either disregarded their obligations under the ADA or made it the last priority,” notes Tom Stenson, a lawyer with Disability Rights Oregon, a nonprofit advocacy group. “There’s a culture throughout America of not taking the needs of people with disabilities seriously.” In Baltimore, just 1.3% of curb ramps ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news