Let's talk about neighborhood accessibility for a moment
Every morning that I possibly can, I start the day with a 30 minute -ish walk in my neighborhood. (Tangent for another day: sure this is "exercise" but why I really commit to this practice is that it does WONDERS for my mental health and lets me "complete the stress cycle" in a way my body needs and wants. I really can't say enough how precious this time has become to me.)
In the process, I have become much more intimately familiar with my neighborhood from an up close perspective that driving doesn't allow. I've grown increasing disturbed by how so many of my neighbors are repeatedly and flagrantly contributing to accessibility issues for disabled people who also live here, undoubtedly leading to challenges, frustrations, and greater isolation. While my current neighborhood is in south Austin, TX I know that there are neighborhoods just like mine all across the country...I grew up in one in Indiana. I've personally seen them in Colorado, California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey.
So I decided to raise a little awareness about this with real life examples. I don't talk about this stuff enough with folks who know me "IRL" so today my (long) Instagram story is called, “my neighborhood is hostile to disabled people and yours probably is too.” If you, like me, have been privileged with 2 legs, eyes, and other body parts that work relatively well up to this point in your life, it can be easy to assume that we all experience our neighborhoods similarly. This is DEEPLY untrue. So that's where this story picks up...
Image shows a sidewalk ending abruptly in someone's yard. Text over the image reads, "But people who use mobility aids and depend on sidewalks to safely get out of their block are often forgotten. Here are just a few examples I peeped today:"
Image shows a different side walk that abruptly ends in someone's right at a sewer access point. Text over this image reads, "Here’s a sidewalk that dumps you out in grass and no ramp. This is a HUGE gap in public accessibility in neighborhoods like mine. In fact, there are *no streets* with continuous sidewalks anywhere near me. They stop and end at random everywhere.:
Image shows a sidewalk next to parking spaces where there is a big gap between the sidewalk and the asphalt, with parking bumpers in between the asphalt and the sidewalk. Text on this image reads, "Tell me, how does a wheelchair user get to the sidewalk? These parking stops are like 2 feet apart."
Image shows a sidewalk with a pickup truck in someone's driveway that is parked covering 100% of the sidewalk's passage. Text on this image reads, "When there ARE sidewalks, people with huge vehicles park with their bumpers across the sidewalk. Other people become a HUGE accessibility obstacle for their neighbors. If you are bling, easily navigating around this will be a challenge.
Image shows a construction pallet of materials sitting squarely in the public sidewalk. Text on the image reads, "Speaking of people blocking their neighbor’s access, let’s see how construction (gentrification, mind you) impacts things".
Image shows more construction materials in someone's yard carelessly stored across 100% of the sidewalk space in front of a hour. Text over the image reads, "SERIOUSLY? The sidewalk is not yours to use as you see fit for personal storage. This stuff has been here for MONTHS at this point."
Image shows another home renovation/construction site where the dirt/soil has been dug up around the sidewalk and is covering it all. No text, but a giphy of a facepalm reaction is overlaid.
Image shows a badly damaged and in horrible shape sidewalk over a bridge. Text over the image reads, "This neighborhood was developed in the 60-70s and its infrastructure is crumbling like so much of our nation. We are all at danger when bridges start crumbling, but especially if you use mobility aids and the sidewalk is falling and wavy. An older person would be a hiiiiiiigh fall risk."
Image shows strange speed bumps placed in a very close together pair. Text over the image reads, "These double speed bumps are supposed to slow unsafe traffic, but can you imagine being a motorized wheelchair user right now? Seriously scary."
Image shows another pickup truck with some kind of additional grate added to the back of it which is parked in a driveway blocking the sidewalk. Text over this final image reads, "These issues are huge and not easily solvable but at the very least, we could: ✅Think beyond your own physical experience ❌Be aware of how we each contribute to isolating our disabled neighbors in their homes and ❌NOT block sidewalks especially when street parking is ample here. This is just CRUEL."