Lack of Ramp Forces Man in Wheelchair Into Street

I write often about curb ramps and street closures. Comments on street closing is often along the lines of “nobody uses that street.” Well unless you are there 24/7 you don’t really know who does and doesn’t use streets. Same goes for access to those in wheelchairs.

On the 10th of September I was enjoying a great lunch with a friend al fresco at The London Tea Room on Washington Ave in the Ely Walker Building. I like having lunch there as they have great salads and as they are the closest place to my loft so I can walk there relatively easy.

This part of Washington Ave has a shifted street grid – 15th & 16th don’t line up with each other across Washington. So while we are having lunch I spot a guy in a manual wheelchair at 16th & Washington.

I didn’t bring my camera so I used my phone to snap a quick image. The man was using a manual wheelchair with his right leg propped up for support. He used both hands and his left leg to propel himself. He was coming from 16th on the North side of Washington Ave – he had possibly been at the Social Security office as 16th & Delmar. He was heading South. The streetscape along Washington is pretty good for East-West travel but not so good for crossing it North-South, especially here where the streets do not align.

Ideally at these points ramps and crosswalks would have been provided. Instead this man entered the street using the ramp on his side, crossed Washington and then traveled in the street on Eastbound Washington until he reached the driveway for the small parking lot for the Ely Walker Building. Returning to the sidewalk using the auto drive he made a right turn at 15th. Traveling a 100ft or so on the street in a slow moving manual chair is an excellent way to get hit & killed.

What were his options?

Few.

A crossing point exists where 16th intersects on the South side of the street and at 14th. I’ve used the crossing at 16th before. Traffic is not required to stop, signs are few and the crosswalk is in pavers that visually blend too well with the road surface. Sometimes traffic will see you on the edge of the road looking for a break and they’ll stop to let you cross. Of course if a car in one direction stops you still have to be sure it is clear from the other side.

But for this guy in a manual chair going uphill to this crossing was likely to be too much effort. While in the hospital I spent months using a manual chair and I can tell you that you come to appreciate level surfaces. This guy had a direct route in mind. Going up to 16th or down to 14th and back up to 15th was probably just too much. Also, he may not have realized a crossing existed the block up the street.

This is one of those cases where somebody might look at the intersection and say, “Nobody in wheelchairs cross here.” I know I had never seen anyone do it until the 10th. Just because you haven’t personally seen someone cross at a certain point, or use a certain street, doesn’t mean its not used ever.

I have seen able-bodied individuals cross Washington at this place before. I’m guessing typically people coming from City Museum heading to The London Tea Room for lunch. If this were an official crosswalk with ramps and good markings it would be much safer. I know that when in my car I don’t always notice people wanting to cross the street at odd intersections like this. I’m always concerned too that if I stop the driver behind me might not realize why I’m stopping and go around me hitting the person I stopped for.

Some other cities, like Toronto, make it a point to call attention to pedestrian crossings.

Drivers expect pedestrians at traditional 4-way intersections. It is where we deviate from the norm that special highlighting is necessary. Ramps are also necessary because we end of with wheelchairs traveling unsafely in auto lanes.

—

The above was written Sunday morning for posting today.  While driving Sunday around noon I spotted the same man wheeling in the street — on Gravois West of Jefferson!  He was in the tiny amount of space between parked cars and the outer drive lane.  He must have used the bus at some point considering the distance traveled.