Susan Goodlaxson always wondered why so many Baltimoreans pushed their wheelchairs down city streets instead of the sidewalk. When she began using a wheelchair at age 60, she realized why.
“Most sidewalks here are crumbling and you can go blocks without curb cuts,” she said. “My intention was to continue to be a fully independent adult and move around and take care of things without needing assistance. And that proved to be impossible.”
That’s why Goodlaxson, along with several other city residents who use wheelchairs and the IMAGE Center of Maryland, filed a class action suit against Baltimore for violating the Americans With Disabilities Act, which mandates that public rights-of-way like streets and sidewalks are accessible to those with mobility impairments. The plaintiffs are not seeking monetary damages but a plan to rectify the violations.
Cory Warren, an attorney at Disability Rights Maryland, filed the suit in U.S. District Court, along with lawyers from Disability Rights Advocates, Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center and Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho.
If the group were to calculate the costs of injuries incurred due to Baltimore’s accessible public spaces, the costs would be enormous, Warren said.
Read more (and listen) at WYPR.
