Wheelchair Chronicles #12
All hail the curb cut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is a solid, usually concrete ramp graded down from the top surface of a sidewalk to the surface of an adjoining street. It is designed for pedestrian uses and commonly found in urban areas where pedestrian activity is expected.
Historically speaking, footpaths were finished at right angles to the street surface with conventional curb treatments. Kalamazoo, Michigan installed curb cuts in the 1940’s as a pilot project to aide employment of disabled veterans.
The Americans with Disabilities Act began to mandate that major cities install curb cuts so that the disabled would be able to get back and forth to their destinations without having to wheel into the streets causing a safety hazard.
The ADA requires all public entities to install curb ramps at intersections where road construction and alterations are done and to ensure that all curbs installed after January 26, 1992, are accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.
This is straight from a briefing against the City of Erie, Pennsylvania.
The curb cut turned out to be a great invention for everyone because of the universal design of the curb cut. People with strollers, canes, walkers, bicyclists, skateboarders, skaters, and even people making deliveries with dollies have benefited from the curb cut. It’s universal design makes it easy for everyone to take advantage of its usage.
So why the big fuss?
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/hp_metro/article_9b0470a4-be1e-11e0-a08b-001cc4c03286.html
That’s why. People with disabilities have to attempt dangerous maneuvers just to get around. I have encountered this many times. Or be put out of the way because there is no access to a curb cut to cross the street. I had to go a full block out of my way once to get to the other side of the street, because the particular sidewalk where I was riding on had no curb cut.
Like the article states, many people in wheelchairs have been killed because they were simply not seen by motorists. Then they get really upset with you for being in the street when the reality is you have no where to go.
Oh and before I forget,
DO NOT BLOCK THE CURB CUT WHEN YOU SEE ME COMING!!!!!!
There were a group of young people standing in front of the curb cut one day when I was downtown trying to make it across the street. They just stared at me as I approached unsure of what to do.
HOW ABOUT MOVE OUT OF THE WAY?
Unlike them, I had no access to get back onto the sidewalk and would be stuck in the street while cars were trying to make a right turn.
**facepalm on society**
We won’t even go there with unshoveled sidewalks and streets. I’ll save that for another edition.
One of my personal pet peeves. Also one of the reasons I won’t use a power chair until I have no other choice. In a manual chair if I have someone with me or find a cool person to help me I can get up a curb. I don’t think most people realize just how important mobility is, or how much more of an effort it is to get around in a chair. I think everyone should try getting around in a chair for at least a day. Might open some eyes.
