Bad Roads & Sidewalks Threaten Independence of Disabled
My wife helped get a front page story published in the Post-Standard today highlighting the work her organization is doing on pedestrian safety for folks using wheelchairs.
In the city, the advances given to folks by motorized wheelchairs is taken away from them by the poor condition of sidewalks, curb cuts and roads. Also, the horrible record of unshoveled sidewalks in the winter forces everyone out into the road--where wild-ass car drivers threaten death and serious injury.
In the suburbs, it's even worse than the city--they don't want ANYONE to walk or roll their wheelchairs down the street. Theyt want you in a car, preferably a gas-guzzling SUV like all the rest of the red-blooded suburbanites. Hardly any provisions are made for folks without cars to use the streets. No sidewalks, no crosswalks, no crossing lights--it's like the Daytona Speedway.
In the city, the advances given to folks by motorized wheelchairs is taken away from them by the poor condition of sidewalks, curb cuts and roads. Also, the horrible record of unshoveled sidewalks in the winter forces everyone out into the road--where wild-ass car drivers threaten death and serious injury.
In the suburbs, it's even worse than the city--they don't want ANYONE to walk or roll their wheelchairs down the street. Theyt want you in a car, preferably a gas-guzzling SUV like all the rest of the red-blooded suburbanites. Hardly any provisions are made for folks without cars to use the streets. No sidewalks, no crosswalks, no crossing lights--it's like the Daytona Speedway.
