Archive
Subscribe
Weather
 |
|
 |
|
City takes steps to implement new city wide ADA plan |
By Laurent
Bonczijk, Newberg Graphic reporter
E-mail Laurent at lbonczijk@eaglenewspapers.com |
Moving around in Newberg,
at least for people with limited mobility, soon may become easier.
In June the Newberg City Council adopted a comprehensive plan to
make the town accessible to all in compliance with the 1992
Americans with Disabilities Act, and improve access and safety for
pedestrians and bicyclists. For people such as Roy Gathercoal, the
move couldn’t come soon enough.
Gathercoal, 49, has been using a wheelchair to move around for the
past 10 years because of Diffuse Idiopathic Skeletal Hyperostosis
(DISH). His bones grow abnormally and compress his nerve endings.
One thing he never noticed before the onset of his condition is how
difficult it can be for someone with mobility issues to get around
in Newberg.
The first distinction he wanted to make when interviewed this week
was that no two wheelchair users do so for the same reason. He
points out that some people can play wheelchair rugby, or “murder
ball” because of high pain tolerance. “My problem on the other hand
is almost exclusively pain,” he said. The jarring he experiences
rolling over a one-inch lip on a sidewalk feels like a kick in his
back, with pain lasting for hours, sometimes days, he added.
Of course, the city’s plan comes at a cost.
“There is a small amount of budget money to upgrade sidewalks,”
said David Beam, the city’s economic development coordinator. He
said the city has $9,000 to implement the plan. Daniel Danicic, the
city’s public works director, said that one ADA curbed corner costs
the city $1,500.
Beam said the city expects to use the money to perform “ADA spot
improvements,” meaning improving sidewalks on routes that only have
a few problem spots.
“One missing curb cut makes the whole route inaccessible,”
Gathercoal said. A missing curb cut on a block will force him to
ride his electric chair on the street, a dangerous proposition
because of traffic.
“With the plan we can go out and start looking for grant
applications,” Beam said, although grants alone will not pay for
full implementation of the plan. Beam said he plans to go approach
the city council about securing a line of funding. Part of the
challenge for Newberg, Beam said, is that it is an old town and a
lot of the infrastructure is was constructed prior to 1992.
Gathercoal said he hopes that the lack of visibility of wheelchair
users will not hinder their cause. He said he understands the issue
particularly well; when he was mobile he didn’t notice wheelchair
users either.
|
Published
July 14, 2007, Newberg Graphic
Click Here to Subscribe |
|
|
|
 |
|
