Improving access for people with disabilities
With its aging city infrastructure, Pittsburgh can be a difficult city for people with disabilities. But the city is working to become more disability-friendly.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in four Pennsylvanians have a disability. People with a disability are more likely to suffer from depression and other health concerns like heart disease and obesity.
At a recent town hall meeting on accessibility, Alisa Grishman, disability rights advocate, writer and founder of Access Mob Pittsburgh, pointed out that many sidewalks are obstructed or damaged in a way that does not accommodate wheelchairs. Obstructions such as outdoor dining, lack of tree maintenance and discarded e-scooters, she said, were main players in making sidewalks impassable for many.
“These are in essence signs that say ‘physically-abled only.’ And there’s no public outcry,” said Grishman. She said she’s tried to contact the city for years about broken pavement with no response, so she began documenting problems around the city herself.
“Pittsburgh is my home, my beautiful, vibrant home. Over the years, living with multiple sclerosis, it has been increasingly hard to feel like Pittsburgh loves me back,” she said. “This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to issues with accessibility and mobility, but it’s what I deal with on a daily basis.”
She was one of dozens of residents, some with disabilities, who attended the town hall with Mayor Ed Gainey at the CityCounty building on Oct. 25 to discuss ways to improve accessibility. The meeting was in collaboration with the City-County Task Force on Disabilities and Oakland for All. City board members discussed strategies in place to improve sidewalks and provide more opportunities for diversity and equity on the board.
“For me, it is necessary to have diversity in my administration,” Gainey said in his opening comments. “This is the most diverse administration that our city has ever seen, and I’m proud of that . . . working together is how we grow.”
Public comments from Pittsburgh residents focused on dilapidated sidewalks, lack of handicapped parking, and police response and safety concerns for those with intellectual disabilities. The mayor also announced that the administration has allocated $300,000 in the 2023 budget to go toward the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) self-evaluation plan and improvement.
Pittsburgh has an ADA office, but its coordinator left the job last month.
Other Pittsburgh residents at the meeting commented on the state of sidewalks in the city. Carol Lubecki, a healing practitioner at Blue Awning Yoga in the Bluff neighborhood, moved to the city two years ago and said that where she lives now, in Lincoln-Lemington, she encounters impassable sidewalks. Lubecki is legally blind and moved to Pittsburgh to be closer to family. “When I lived in Philly, I was completely independent,” she said. “We’ve called the city for two-plus years about this, and nothing has been done. There’s a great sidewalk nearby, but it’s completely overgrown.” Lubecki added that there were a lot of older people living in her neighborhood who would also benefit from better sidewalks.
Bernadette Mosey is in her 60s and lives in the Beechview neighborhood. She uses an electric wheelchair and mentioned that many sidewalks are blocked by fire hydrants and light poles, and some sidewalks simply lead nowhere. She suggested that the city fine those involved in the creation of impassable sidewalks until they are fixed. Mosey also called for more push buttons on crosswalks to increase safety, praising crossing lights and buttons on Carson Street on the South Side for being well-planned and accessible.
“I urge you to ask yourselves before you plan and before you approve, ‘Is this going to help or hinder disabled folks?’” Mosey asked the board.
Tess Dally, 60, a resident of the North Point Breeze neighborhood, introduced problems with parks. She lived in Alaska for 30 years and moved to Pittsburgh three years ago, drawn to the city’s beautiful parks.
“I would love to access [the Schenley Oval Sportsplex] because I am a pickleball player,” Dally said. “But parks and recs programs are not accessible.” She also brought up a dearth of handicapped parking at Schenley Oval and at Highland Park pool. Dally added that it was difficult not to get upset, but
that she was still grateful for other parts of Pittsburgh she loved.
Another speaker, who provided comments on behalf of Luciana Randall, president of Autism Connections PA, proposed that the Mayor’s office increase budget and staffing for the ADA office so it can serve as a resource for people needing information and as an emergency hub. She reminded the room that on Sept. 21, 2022, 57-year-old Anthony G. Talotta died after being found unresponsive in Allegheny County Jail. Talotta had been diagnosed with autism and intellectual disability and was the sixth person to die in the jail this year.
“Incarceration should not be a death sentence,” she said. Other speakers brought up issues with the way police officers in Pittsburgh treat residents with intellectual disabilities.
Aurelia Carter, family support specialist supervisor in the Office of Behavioral Health at the County’s Department of Human Services (DHS), advocated for accessible, affordable and safe housing. “I have two adult family members with disabilities who want the same thing as everyone else: to live on their own,” she said. But when helping them access Section 8 housing vouchers, she found little helpful information, calling the system broken. “If they can’t help themselves, there should be information available that I can access to help them,” Carter said. “We have to do better . . . no resident should live in fear.”
Colton Vazquez, 23, spoke about the difficulties of finding affordable housing. Mr. Vazquez is a senior at Duquesne University and says he is the first student with intellectual disabilities to live on campus.
Vazquez hopes to own a house one day. “I love to work; I love to make money,” he said. “I need affordable housing. I can pay my share, but owning a home in this city has become difficult.” He said he has been saving moneyfor a decade.
After public comment had concluded, Lisa Frank, chief operating and administrative officer, discussed plans in place to improve diversity and disability resources. The city will be hiring a new police chief, and Frank said her team has spent a lot of time visiting police officers throughout many zones to find the right candidate.
Four more community meetings were scheduled for the public to weigh in on the decision. Pittsburgh residents can also take an online survey without having to attend a meeting.
Frank said she also hopes to increase communication among departments not in the same building so that when a resident calls about an issue with a park, a sidewalk or, say, inadequate parking at the pool, employees talk to each other and are aware of issues being raised by residents.
“We need a seat at the table and a real voice,” Vazquez said. He asked the board to invite people with disabilities to sit on panels.
Felicity Williams, deputy chief of staff to the mayor, later announced that the city was indeed starting a volunteer initiative to recruit people interested in serving on boards and commissions. “We want to have disability representation on our boards,” she said. Anyone interested can submit a volunteer application to be considered for an appointment.
Residents with comments can email neighbor@pittsburghpa.gov, ada@pittsburghpa. for ADA-specific inquiries, or call 311 for more information.
Gainey closed by promising that there would be more disability meetings in the future and that officials were working on various strategies. “These things don’t happen overnight,” he said. “I’m not asking you to be patient. I am asking you to help me guide us and work with us.”