Seeking Broader Access to Parks

A NY Times article this morning discusses the efforts of a woman with MS, Ann Sieck, to make the outdoors more accessible to people with disabilities.  She talks about how when she encounters a manmade obstacle, she gets a feeling of "impotent rage".  This comes from knowing how it ranges from difficult to impossible for people with disabilities to get around many of our national parks.

In the hope of lessening that feeling, Ms. Sieck has joined a federal class-action lawsuit against the National Park Service and its Golden Gate National Recreation Area, a series of parks and open spaces that traverse 75,000 acres of public land and 59 miles of Pacific shoreline and include landmarks like Alcatraz and Muir Woods.

Federal law requires the Park Service to provide universal access to its land and attractions. Ms. Sieck and other people with disabilities say they cannot gain entry or use many of the Golden Gate area’s historic buildings, trails, museums, restrooms or water fountains. via NY Times

Ms. Sieck has published information on wheelchair accessible trails in the San Francisco Bay area that can be found here.