Caption: Mobilizer Donna Dill weighs in on parking at the Waco Downtown Farmer’s Market
Mobilizing for access is not just about flashy projects and bright orange T-shirts. It’s also about building relationships and weighing in at crucial points in planning processes.
Since mid-summer we have met with planners at Waco Transit, the Waco Downtown Farmer’s Market, Mission Waco’s Creekside Village tiny-home development, and three City of Waco departments. Mobilizer Suzette May helped plan and facilitate the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization’s five Convey 2050 public comment events on its new Metropolitan Transportation Plan. Nine mobilizers attended one or more of the Convey 2050 events to offer their feedback.
When we perform ambitious audits of existing infrastructure, as with our Under-35 project in 2023 and our Waco Drive audit this year, we assess newly built infrastructure and provide feedback so newly constructed accessibility features will improve over time. It’s working! Thanks in part to our feedback, Accessible Pedestrian Signals for blind pedestrians work a lot better along Waco Drive than they did during our Under-35 audit last year.
But we also need to be where the sausage is made. As lived-experience experts who can offer valuable input earlier in the planning process when priorities are being set and decisions about accessibility features are being made. Some planners we speak to acknowledge that ADA guidelines don’t tell them everything they need to know about what works best in real life. You can have the right number of accessible parking spaces, for example, but they may be positioned in a way that compromises access. People who use lift vehicles and are familiar with a specific venue can offer insights that one-size-fits-all ADA guidelines can’t provide. We can also help planners to prioritize the placement of accessibility improvements so residents of large senior residents and clients of rehab facilities can travel between their homes, medical facilities, and the wider community.
With Mobilize Waco’s input, planners can get access right from the get-go! And you can help make it happen.