Aren’t you forgetting someone, Buffalo?

By Lizzie Pike, Contributing Writer

I think by now everyone knows about the construction currently going on around the east side of Buffalo. For a good month or so, it was really hard to miss the sidewalk being completely gone and the obnoxious blinking signs around Jefferson Ave. and Main Street. For someone like me, an ambulatory wheelchair user, this was definitely a noticeable thing.

Since around the beginning of September, the construction has become a genuine issue for me as a disabled individual. I am quite happy that after a year, they’re finally fixing that crossing light around Science Hall, but my biggest issue is the lack of accessibility being created for me in order to GET to Science Hall safely. 

For an able–bodied person, it shouldn’t take you more than two minutes to get from Old Main to the front of Science Hall. For me, it takes five to eight minutes. In order for me not to kill myself trying to get to the corner, I have to drag and stop my feet on an incredibly sharp–turning hill that connects the library to the actual sidewalk. Keep in mind, I need to also take into account people who use that narrow walkway and people who do not move to the other side. Crossing at the crosswalk is out of the question too; there is no ramp for me to go up. 

As of last week, they lowered the dip into the parking lot in front of the Science Hall and finally filled in the sidewalk, but the dip is still too big for me to go up by myself. I have had tours stop to help me up to the sidewalk, and I am very appreciative of that. Even with help, it takes me a while to get to places by myself. If I were to SAFELY get across the streets (crosswalks and all), it would take between five to 10 minutes more. I’m not putting that much effort into getting to a class that I dread, sorry.

It feels like, even with all of the development disabled folks have made in today's societies and the impact we have as people, we are still an afterthought. If you have ever seen me going up ramps, you’ve seen me go backwards. I can’t use any of the ramps in the buildings without tipping over or struggling to get up without being in chronic pain. I use the wheelchair due to my connective tissue and fainting condition, and wheeling forward will ultimately cause extreme stress on my body and possibly cause me to faint. Even though the ramps are Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant, it is an insane struggle to use. I assume that a lot of the time, when new architecture or infrastructure is being discussed, disabled people are never considered. 

More people need to be more like my boss, Jason Francey. During the Leadership Retreat, he told me about walking up a quarter of a mile uphill. “Lizzie would not enjoy this one bit,” he said. People should be just as considerate as that.

Be like Jason and think to yourself, “would people with mobility aids struggle with this?”