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San Diego’s sidewalks can be a perilous place for all kinds of pedestrians. Our coverage over the last few months has highlighted the city’s illogical sidewalk policies and called out some of the worst blocks through our Stumblr photo blog.
Kim Gibbens, head of the San Diego Center for the Blind, wants the city to deal with the problem. She sent Mayor Bob Filner a letter Tuesday asking for a comprehensive evaluation of sidewalks citywide and urging him to fix the broken sidewalks we’ve highlighted on the blog:
Each picture highlights significant hazards for pedestrians living with visual impairment. The cracks and bumps in those sidewalks could easily cause a blind person to fall, break an arm of leg — or something much worse. After reviewing the pictures, I’m shocked that a City which fully embraces ADA standards would allow such utter disrepair along its sidewalks.
Here’s a link to Gibbens’ full letter to the mayor.
The San Diego Center for the Blind is the latest group to ask Filner to include a citywide examination of its 5,000 miles of sidewalks in its budget. The Community Budget Alliance, an organization made up of more than 40 labor and community organizations, told the City Council last week it wanted a sidewalk assessment in the budget.
CBA supports conditions assessments, especially for sidewalks. They need to capture missing & needed infrastructure. via @corinnecpi
— CPI (@onlineCPI) May 23, 2013
Filner has said he supports a proposal to assess sidewalks for $1 million, but hasn’t yet included it in the budget.
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