WESTFIELD – A simple motion to request the Department of Public Works to cut a curb for handicap access escalated into a much broader discussion of pedestrian safety at the City Council session Thursday night.
At-large Councilor Nicholas Morganelli and Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe requested the council to approve a motion to request the DPW to cut the curbs at the intersection of Prospect and Atwater streets for handicap access.
Morganelli, a resident of that area, said that while the sidewalk in that area is in good condition, the lack of curb cuts is an impediment for a wheelchair-bound resident of that area, parents with children in strollers, children on “big-wheels” or skateboards.
“I live right there and I’ve watched this guy in his wheelchair come down the street,” Morganelli said. “He has to go down a driveway, out into the street and across the intersection to the next driveway, then back onto the sidewalks because there is not curb cut. It’s not safe.”
Morganelli said that he requested all six ward councilors to compile a list of handicap access problems for submission to city departments for resolution.
The motion to send the request to the DPW was approved, but not before it has sparked a discussion of handicap access and pedestrian safety city-wide.
Ward 3 Councilor Peter J. Miller Jr., said the issue of handicap access is not isolated to that intersection.
“We need handicap ramps in sidewalks all over the city,” he said. “It should be a priority issue, something we have to resolve, something we need to work on with Public Works.”
Keefe, who is also the current City Council president, said it is not the business of the legislative branch to micromanage city departments.
“I don’t think this is the business of the council,” Keefe said. “I know that a lot of this work fell victim to the recession and the recent economic situation, but it is a polite way to remind the executive branch that we have a backlog of these issues.”
“We had another crosswalk issue on the agenda today for South Maple Street,” Keefe said. “I have a number of these issues, curb cuts for handicap access, crosswalk striping and markings.
Ward 2 Councilor James E. Brown Jr., sponsored a motion to send his request to reinstall a crosswalk in the area of 88-90 South Maple Street because of the volume of foot traffic in that area crossing the street to access the F.L. Roberts convenience store. That crosswalk disappeared a number of years ago when the road was resurfaced and the crosswalk markings never restored. The signs designating the crosswalk were later removed.
