Found this article over at Disapedia. Have you visited Disapedia? I do, all the time. It's a great site and growing- as we all add to it!
This story covers a potential wheelchair pedestrian accident - or even death. He lives near heavy traffic - with no sidewalks - and has to travel two miles in his wheelchair to get a bus.
"Outside McNeel's East Ridge home, he's stuck. "Where's the sidewalk, there is none," McNeel said. He fears heavy traffic racing down his street. In just one minute, fifteen cars drove up and down McBrien Road outside McNeel's house, posing a danger, he says threatens his life.
"I'm scared, they don't care, they don't slow down, some of them don't pull over into the other lane to let me by," he said. As recently as last month, McNeel says he was nearly killed. "A tour bus was coming up the hill, and the only way I could get away from the situation was go, guess where?" he said pointing three feet down into a ditch. "I had nowhere else to go," he said. It was his only escape. "I shouldn't have to do that," he said.
McNeel wants the city to take action. "It's moving too slowly," he said. He said he has the right to be safe. He warns, one more close call could be the last. "If I'm hit, I will have no recourse, other than to sue."
East Ridge city officials responded, saying they're aware of McNeel's troubles, but they're not required to provide sidewalks. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses and entities, which would be a city in this case, to provide access and transportation near it's site. The law is limited, though, and can't guarantee all access."
Via wrcbtv.com
5 comments:
This is a travesty. When a city chooses to hide behind the "the law doesn't actually make us" to avoiding the expense of providing safe access for its citizens....blah! But also, why do so many cars not want to slow for wheelchairs? I don't understand but I have found it happen again and again personally.
I've experienced it many times too, even in relatively bucolic settings where I go. All of a sudden some madman zooms out and practically sends me home to my Maker. Perhaps I need to put up some prayers for crossing the street in a wheelchair.
This past weekend my wheelchair got clipped by a car at a curbcut when the guy ran a light. I fell out but not into the path of his car but broke an arm because I fell right onto my arm. The car took off and I was planted face down so I don't have much of a description. Now I can't get back and forth to work by myself or push my wheelchair for weeks.This kind of thing is totally unnecessary was like he was racing me and I could be dead.
Ruth, appreciate everything you've done in the past few days to help me figure out how to deal with this. Thanks very much.
hotwheelz,
I am so sorry this happened -- I've been hit a couple of times, but never actually injured beyond a few bruises.. the cars were just rolling.
Once a few years ago, my husband was turning a corner onto an arterial and nearly clipped a woman in a scooter. He couldn't see her till he had almost hit her. He was really shaken -- because, as he said, "That could have been you!"
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