Recent articles in this outlet have highlighted the challenges faced by people with disabilities in New Haven, including difficulties reaching the summit of East Rock Park, problems with the new bus ticket sales location on Church Street, and inaccessible bus stops after the recent historic sno wstorms. As an appointed member of the city’s Commission on Disabilities and a local resident with a disability, I welcome media coverage that sheds light on the unique challenges these residents face and commend the city’s efforts to address them; however, we are caught in a cycle of “whack-a-mole” accessibility planning. This approach is inefficient for the city and draining for residents with disabilities. It puts well-meaning city employees in the position of trying to fix difficult problems after they already exist, and it puts people with disabilities in the position of always having to advocate for change, while feeling excluded in their own communities.  To escape this quagmire, New Haven is uniquely positioned to reimagine itself as an accessible city in the present moment. An accessible city is intentionally designed to offer equal opportunities and a barrier-free experience for all its residents. The city is currently planning for historic infrastructure investment, including the redesign of the Town Green, the bus rapid transit project, the Long Wharf and Coastal Resiliency Project, the Safe Routes for All project, and Vision 2034, to name a few.  Although each of these projects includes an accessibility component, I believe there is an opportunity to develop a unified accessibility vision for the city through them. Accessible cities benefit all residents and foster an environment that thrives for future generations.  Committing to an accessible city ensures adherence to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is the federal civil rights law that bans discrimination against people with disabilities in all public services, including employment, schools, transportation, and public spaces. When a city takes a proactive approach to ADA compliance, it greatly reduces the risk of costly lawsuits or federal fines.  For example, New York City’s lack of accessible pedestrian signals (talking and vibrotactile walk signs) resulted in a 2020 federal court ruling ordering the city to install 10,000 Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) over the next decade. This expensive lawsuit could have been avoided with a proactive plan to address this accessibility issue.  From personal experience, the city of New Haven currently lacks essential APS infrastructure in many areas. This is especially important at traffic-light-controlled intersections with an “exclusive pedestrian phase,” when only pedestrians can cross, and cars are stopped in all directions. There is no way for someone who cannot see the walk signal to cross safely. One example is at the intersection of Orange Street and Cold Spring Street in East Rock. This busy crossing is near Wilbur Cross High School and East Rock Park. I often pick up my daughter from her preschool across the street and cross to the park to play. As a visually impaired parent, I have to hold my four-year-old’s hand and do my best to cross safely, unable to tell if the walk sign is on. No parent wants to be in that situation, regardless of their vision.  Accessible cities enhance safety for all residents, and inclusive infrastructure benefits everyone. For instance, curb ramps assist anyone who needs to roll something, and benches support people with mobility challenges, breastfeeding parents, and older adults. Furthermore, well-designed pedestrian infrastructure can reduce severe and fatal pedestrian injuries by 41 percent. APS not only significantly improves correct crossing decisions among the visually impaired but also promotes higher walk-sign compliance and reduces risky crossing behavior among all residents.  Accessibility also supports cities’ economic health. People with disabilities in the U.S. have about $500 billion per year in disposable income to spend. When the sidewalk is missing or broken, or there is no safe crossing in front of a storefront on Orange Street or a restaurant in Wooster Square, that’s not just bad for the resident; it’s a lost opportunity for a local business. Those businesses don’t just lose one customer; they lose a family of five that decides to eat at a more accessible chain restaurant out of town. Inaccessibility is a hidden tax on our local community.  It is time for the City of New Haven to develop a comprehensive and positive plan that prioritizes individuals with disabilities. Thirty-five years of the Americans with Disabilities Act have shown us that universal design and accessibility benefit everyone, not just those with disabilities. You can easily see this the next time you roll a piece of luggage, bike, or stroller down a curb cut. If Vision 2034 ends with a city that remains a ‘whack-a-mole’ of barriers to be fixed, we will have failed to create the inclusive Elm City we have been promised. We must move beyond mere compliance in isolated project silos and make accessibility the beating heart of New Haven’s future.  Allie Futty is a disability researcher, educator, and member of the city’s Commission on Disabilities. Allie is a resident of the East Shore neighborhood of New Haven and is a person with a visual impairment. The views included in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Commission on Disabilities.  The post Opinion: New Haven Needs To Prioritize Accessibility  appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less