Heights sidewalks not wheelchair accessible, lead to nowhere
HOUSTON - In 2019, Heights resident Alan Jackson spent three months walking through the Heights eyeing the sidewalks.
"Seeing where they were good, where they were missing, where they were not passable," he said.
Alan says he found about 70 percent of sidewalks in the Heights are pretty good, but pretty bad for the disabled.
"If you're in a wheelchair and you want to get from one end of the block to the other end there's maybe only five or six blocks where you can manage that without running into some type of problem," said Alan.
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In a notable spot, we discovered utility boxes that block everyone's access.
The federal and state standard for wheelchair ramps is five degrees, but one we reported is measured at 26 degrees.
"It would be pretty much impossible to even push somebody up this ramp in a wheelchair," Alan said.
Walking the baby is not always easy for Gary Randell and his wife.
"There are places where there's gravel. There are places where it's cracked or uneven," he said. "You can't even walk across it without running into issues."
District C Councilmember Abbie Kamin calls sidewalks in The Heights a huge challenge.
"The Heights has one of the oldest infrastructures in the city," she said. "Remember, The Heights was actually its own city before it was incorporated into Houston."
The City of Houston doesn't have a dedicated funding stream for sidewalks.
Houston Public Works Sidewalk Program builds new sidewalks along streets leading to schools' major thoroughfares and improves accessibility for people with disabilities.
So, who pays for sidewalks in need of repair?
"Homeowners are responsible for the care and maintenance of sidewalks," said Kamin. "So even when we have sidewalks it's up to the homeowner, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Some funds are available through programs like the Safe Sidewalk to School Program and one to make sidewalks wheelchair accessible.
"I have worked to allocate money through the mayor's office for people with disabilities to bump up some of the requests coming through for District C," Kamin said.