Are Chicago's Sidewalks Accessible?

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (0:12)
Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.
Stick around till the end of the episode to get the latest rundown on the top local stories of the day. But first, most of us don't think about it. Chicago's sidewalks only catch our attention when they're cracked, blocked, or impossible to navigate. But for many people with disabilities, those kinds of obstacles aren't just an occasional inconvenience. They're part of daily life. Now Chicago's facing a new lawsuit, alleging its sidewalks violate the Americans with Disabilities Act, just two years after settling a separate case over inaccessible crosswalks. In this episode of the pod, we're taking a closer look at how accessible Chicago's streets and sidewalks really are, with a panel of experts and the man at the center of the new lawsuit. At the table was Rachel Weisberg, Directing Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates, Peter Tucic, who's Vice President of Public Advocacy at Chicago Lighthouse, that's an advocacy group for the vision impaired, and Kevin Sullivan, a motivational speaker and the plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Kevin and Peter started off by sharing their viewpoints of the difficulty navigating Chicago sidewalks. Peter went first.

**Peter Tucic** (1:28)
I think that we're very fortunate to have a city that's extremely well laid out in terms of it's a great grid, right? It has this perfect kind of setup where we can move about in theory very easily, but at times it can be a struggle because you will have many different types of not only intersections, but also widths of sidewalks and kind of, it can be a struggle really depending on where you are.
And one block does not equal the next block, so it certainly can be tricky.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:00)
Yeah, yeah. Kevin, what comes to mind?

**Kevin Sullivan** (2:02)
Yeah, he kind of stole the words right out of my mouth. It really depends on where you're at in the city. I would say downtown is better than some other areas.
If I were to rate it, it depends on the day. I'd probably give it somewhere between a five and a seven. But yeah, it really just depends on the quality of the sidewalk and how if anything is broken or not, but it can really vary.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:24)
Before we move further, I want to make sure our listeners are aware. Peter, you've been blind since birth?

**Peter Tucic** (2:30)
Yes.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:30)
Is that right?

**Peter Tucic** (2:31)
Yes. I'm totally blind. Blind since birth.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:33)
Yeah. Kevin, you have a physical disability?

**Kevin Sullivan** (2:36)
Yes. I was born with a condition known as arthrogryposis multiplex congenita or AMC, and I've had that since birth also.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (2:43)
I mentioned a few of the obstacles there, and Kevin and Peter just laid them out for us. But I want to hear more about the common barriers to accessible streets in Chicago from all of you. Rachel, let's bring you in here to start.

**Rachel Weisberg** (2:58)
Sure.
In terms of sidewalk accessibility, one thing that, as you noted, Sasha, people who are walking around the city often notice cracks. They'll notice kind of when sidewalks come together and there's a couple inches in between one panel and another panel, they'll notice that the curb ramp is falling apart or the pedestrian access part is kind of uplifted. And for most people, it's not great. It's an inconvenience, maybe a tripping hazard. But for people with disabilities, it's a complete barrier to accessing public life.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:32)
Absolutely. Kevin?

**Kevin Sullivan** (3:34)
Yeah. I mean, it's broken sidewalks, broken curb cuts. Even on my way here today, I encountered a crosswalk that did not have curb cuts on either side, and it was right in front of the Wrigley building, which I found very surprising because that's a very tourist heavy area.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (3:49)
Right.

**Kevin Sullivan** (3:50)
But just basic things like that, big large potholes in the sidewalk, or even within the crosswalk on the street. It's really all over the board, the types of issues that are present.

**Sasha-Ann Simons** (4:02)
Any other overall barriers you can think of, Peter?

**Peter Tucic** (4:04)
Well, I think that from the lens of blindness, just because there's a blended curb or the truncated domes that you may feel to indicate that you're at a crosswalk doesn't mean you're necessarily lined up perfectly with the other side.
Sometimes there's this sort of offset angle and you kind of have to over-correct once you step off. And that's also where things like the auditory pedestrian signals and other pieces are very helpful. So when you talk about an accessible city, it's everything coming together. That needs to happen to not only allow us to travel, but to increase that confidence so that more of us will travel and can go wherever we need to go.