WACO, Texas — The local organization Mobilize Waco has partnered up with TxDOT on checking and monitoring how accessible crosswalks are on Waco Drive for the disabled. Their main goal is to make sure the City of Waco is accessible for all.
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Waco resident Suzette May is legally blind. With her seeing-eye dog Fred by her side, he’s her only sight to the world.
“He’s trained to navigate steps and curbs, he’s trained to navigate stairs, he’s also trained for traffic,” May said.
Helping her through busy crosswalks like this one on the the corner of 18th and Waco Drive.
“We can go just about everywhere,” May said.
But not every crosswalk is as safe as this one.
“This is a way that we can go out and we can check and make sure that, you know, everything is more accessible and we can get from point A to point B,” Mobilize Waco member Donna Dill said.
Mobilize Waco advocates for Wacoans with disabilities, making sure the crosswalks along Waco Drive are accessible.
“We are doing our second intersection assessment, and so we asked for the opportunity to check the intersections and the pedestrian signals, and TxDOT agreed, and so we did that,” Mobilize Waco Founder Meg Wallace said.
TxDOT said the partnership involves the group, quote:
“Voluntarily assessing TxDOT construction projects’ ADA and pedestrian features. TxDOT is welcoming feedback from the group to review and consider for current and future projects.”
“So lately they’ve devoted a lot of funds to infrastructure. What we would like is to be part of the decision making where they’re prioritizing work,” Wallace said.
Making sure in this community every street accessible as top priority.
“Make Waco a city that is easier to get around in and it makes a better community,” Dill said.
So community members like Suzette and Fred look forward to what’s ahead.
“We’re just like everyone else, we just may do things a little differently,” May said.
