By Dalia Diaz
The city has put on a display of construction in many of the streets and parks in Lawrence recently. I am sure that you have noticed because the inconvenience is noticeable. I am sure that it has to do with the $26 million dollars that Mayor Rivera states the Office of Planning and Development Director Theresa Park has brought into Lawrence for projects and along with a $26,000 salary increase that she has received because of it.
I applaud the work being done, especially the project in which the city has done identifying city streets with signage. However, let’s be cognizant of the work being applied.
Several residents of our neighborhoods have called me to highlight the poor quality of work that is being accomplished. More specifically, how the construction in our city is still discriminating against our disabled and elderly. Alberto Suris went out taking pictures of specific locations from where our readers identified to find that the message they were relaying to us was even worse than we had envisioned.
We visited the several streets and found that on the corner Maurice Avenue and Jennings Street, the street signage was placed in the exact middle of the sidewalk making it impossible for someone who is disabled with walking apparatus or wheelchair to make their way through the sidewalk.
Additionally, the next street over, the signage is placed in the middle of the sidewalk, but it probably does not matter because the sidewalk is unpassable for the disabled.
Up further in Maurice Avenue, a new signage addition has begun near the old signage post. The picture clearly shows how the new post has been set back at least 12 inches, thereby blocking access for the disabled.
This is just not the above-named streets. Rumbo also rode around the city and found that in many of these newly constructed intersections, either a traffic light post or a traffic relay station blocks the access for disabled (and even pedestrians for that matter) in order to cross the street. The street corner in front of the Buckley Garage (Common and Amesbury Street) has so many signs, traffic post and a traffic relay that is a maze just trying to get through to cross the streets.
I don’t have to say that the Commission on Disability is not stepping up in demanding that the federal consent is applied, or in many instances applied correctly, because I don’t think they are. I wonder if the city (DPW and the Planning Department) communicates with the Disability Commission and/or ask for their input on completed/finished projects. I doubt it, based on the evidence that is turning up in the city. I believe they are not. It may be, for all we know, the contractors doing the work – but should someone in city hall be checking the completed work to ensure that it was done correctly. Where is our Project Planning Supervisor (so call engineer Theodoro Rosario)? Should he not be monitoring this as part of Project Management? Is the Planning Department even communicating with everyone else? What about the city engineer? Does she not have a say on these projects?
I spoke to DPW Director Carlos Jaquez and he explained what federal and state laws apply on this. Since he didn’t know what streets I was talking about, I sent him the pictures you see here. He also told me that as long as they leave 30 inches on the sidewalk, a wheelchair can get through. Judge it yourself.
I don’t think the left-hand know what the right-hand is working on. Come on people! It’s simple, but more importantly it’s common sense to not place the post right in the middle of a sidewalk.
