Daryl,
Another winter ice and snow storm has just deposited 6-8 inches on the parking lot at McDonald House. The maintenance crew is cleaning the lot again, they worked through tough weather yesterday so people (handicapped and elderly) might get out in the storm. I would love to go out and get a coffee in downtown Hamp but I KNOW that the mess deposited on sidewalks and cut-outs won't allow me to push my wheelchair up Crafts Ave for another 2-3 days.
You see that some shop owners on Main Street don't consider accessibility their responsibility! There are areas on Main and side-streets which after a storm and hard freeze won't be open for wheelchairs until a real thaw appears , maybe March or April if one is lucky. The recent cutbacks will only serve to reinforce this type of neglect to the less fortunate of Northampton. Unfortunately , The Mayor, City Council, and Police have selective memory regarding their collective responsibility to insure safe access for the citizens.
A recent Gazette article showed a fellow chair user navigating down Conz Street to get uptown. You really haven't lived until you are traveling down the road in your chair because sidewalks are impassable, (some people consider a shovelwidth adequate), and drivers honk at you, a trespasser on their turf!! Oh What Fun!! Pehaps, you are like me and others who really don't want to listen to EXCUSES and JUST WANT YOU TO DO YOUR JOB and make it accessible for all.
Sincerely ,
Jim Brooks
