‘Mobility for All’ is a goal for the City of Bellingham. What that means and how it manifests is up to City residents. City staff are asking: where do you see barriers to full participation?
Public input is vital to the City’s development of a plan to ensure that pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way are accessible and consistent with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Kim Brown, the City’s ADA Coordinator, is leading a community effort to identify challenges within Bellingham’s pedestrian network.
“We invite the public to help us identify barriers and prioritize improvements to facilities such as sidewalks, curb ramps, pedestrian crossings and pedestrian push buttons,” says Brown. “This Plan provides an opportunity for Bellingham to identify barriers and changes that are needed for individuals with disabilities to fully participate in civic life.
“Equal access is not only a civil right – it is our social responsibility to uphold and promote diversity, equity and inclusion,” says Brown. “We want to learn how to create ‘mobility for all’ so our community is useable and accessible for all citizens.”
Brown is seeking input from community members who use City sidewalks and crossings to guide development of the City’s ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan. There are several ways to participate:
- help identify barriers and prioritize improvements by sharing your thoughts via this online survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BellinghamADA ;
- learn more about the City’s ADA Transition Plan via the online Open House through July;
- When out in the community, use your mobile phone, tablet or laptop to report specific barriers via this online reporting tool: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/fafed1b86ac74cfa9733aa89d4d7ba03.
The ADA prohibits local governments from discriminating on the basis of disability. As part of this mandate, Bellingham and other cities are to evaluate their current level of accessibility and develop a plan to transition to full access in all services, programs and activities. This specific effort focuses on the public right-of-way, which includes sidewalks, curb ramps, pedestrian crossings and pedestrian push buttons.
For more information on this project, please visit https://www.cob.org/gov/access/Pages/mobility-for-all.aspx or contact Brown via (360)778-7950 or (TTY) 7-1-1 or email ada@cob.org. For information regarding the City’s policies on accessibility and non-discrimination, visit: cob.org/gov/access .
