Safer Sidewalks Benefit Everyone
By Crystal Ann Edwards, PhD, Mode Shift Omaha Board of Directors
Have you ever wished that it was a little bit easier to walk or bike Omaha? We do, too. We wish we would never find both sides of the road with closed sidewalks. We wish detours, when they do exist, and often they do not, reflected how pedestrians and cyclists use them. Pedestrians need to cross before the closure which often cannot be seen from the bottom of the hill, like the situation on 48th and Farnam going west. Pedestrians should not be routed up muddy grassy hills like they are at 72d and Dodge right now, or forced so far out of the crosswalk because of construction that they can’t hear the beeping signal if they are blind.
Safer Sidewalks are not just a silly dream they are a legal requirement and an economic necessity. Many might say “but construction doesn’t last forever and people just have to find another way”. But leaving sidewalks unfinished for 6 weeks to 6 months or just indefinitely in many cases is unacceptable. What we have is a car centered culture and all of the little inconveniences are portrayed just like that, little. But together they create a cage whereby most pedestrians find it very difficult to move about the city without the stress of being run over or forced out into Saddle Creek road, Dodge street, or Center street (all three examples from real stories shared with me, one of whom was in a wheelchair).
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires accommodations for people with disabilities to ensure suitable employment, transportation, and public accommodations. So while the legal and ethical imperative for a safer sidewalk is based in ADA, everyone has a stake in Safer Sidewalks. Unfortunately, people with disabilities are perceived as a small minority and unless we ourselves or our children have a disability, most people aren’t paying attention. One in ten Americans suffers from a disability at any given time. Additionally, walkability and accessibility create economic opportunity and viable neighborhoods. It allows the young and the old to be independent; it frees up the roads, lessens our tax bill, decreases pollution, and positively impacts our physical and emotional health. What foul reason can we have for leaving so many of our people standing in the middle of traffic?
Sign the Mode Shift Omaha Safer Sidewalks Petition to tell your city council and Mayor that you deserve and want better sidewalks especially during construction. The petition has a space for comment and Mode Shift Omaha wants you to tell your stories so that we can share them with the city. Please sign by December 5th, 2019 so that we can get this before the city council on December 10th 2019. Another innocent victim cannot wait for Safer Sidewalks.
