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Sales tax increase could fix tight bridge sidewalk
Nevada Daily Mail
"If you tip over and fall out, it's over for you. If a big ole semi comes by, you're talking about cutting it close."
That's how Willie Kimbrough described using a wheelchair on the railroad overpass sidewalk along Austin Boulevard between Osage and Subway boulevards.
Kimbrough, an accessibility advocate for On My Own who uses a wheelchair, attempted to use the sidewalk crossing the overpass Tuesday morning in an effort to show why the overpass needs upgrading.
Improvements to the bridge and sidewalk are just one of Nevada's seven suggested projects on the Missouri Department of Transportation's list of proposed repairs that could be completed if a three-quarter cent sales tax were approved by voters later this year.
During his attempted trek across the bridge, Kimbrough evaluated problems with the sidewalk that he said have kept many wheelchair users from traveling along Austin Boulevard. The main issue, he said, is the width.
With a yellow tape measure pulled from his bag, Kimbrough leaned forward to measure the sidewalk in multiple places before attempting to roll onto the bridge. In the best spots, where grass and gravel hadn't covered the concrete, the path measured two feet -- nearly 12 inches narrower than the Americans with Disabilities Act requires for traveled paths.
Then, getting onto the bridge itself was a task. On the eastbound route, multiple-inch lips between the two walkways required him to lean back and lift the front two wheels of his wheelchair over the edge before muscling through the lift.
The bridge sidewalk itself measured 47 inches, technically wider than what's required by the ADA, but didn't offer room for passing or turning around. On the bridge Tuesday, Kimbrough gave up an attempt to make a turn-around; his feet dangling off the sidewalk and into a lane of traffic before he decided it just wasn't going to work.
Kimbrough said the width and lack of space to pass or turn safely has discouraged many people he speaks with, at On My Own, from traveling across the bridge.
"Everybody I know, when I got here, was telling me about it," Kimbrough said. "It is the biggest accessibility issue."
To make matters worse, he said, the pitch of the bridge causes blind spots, meaning turn-around space is a necessity because wheelchair users can't see oncoming pedestrians. Kimbrough said there have been cases where individuals using wheelchairs had to back down the steep sidewalk, backward, to make room for oncoming wheelchairs.
"You have to maintain good coordination," Kimbrough said, something that isn't necessarily easy for every wheelchair user with the grade of the hill. He said he has heard about the problematic sidewalk since arriving to work in Nevada last summer.
Earlier this year, Kimbrough and fellow On My Own advocate Stacey Wilson spoke with the Vernon County Commission about making improvements to the bridge to ensure all pedestrians could safely cross. But, commissioners told the pair that the overpass was out of their jurisdiction.
After a series of meetings between representatives from Kaysinger Basin Regional Planning Commission, the Vernon County Commission and the public, the bridge made its way onto the list of projects that could be funded if a three-quarter cent sales tax is passed by Missouri voters Aug. 5.
Kimbrough said he hopes the tax initiative would work out to help repair the bridge, making routes to stores and errands easier for those with mobility disabilities and safer for anyone who chooses to walk across town.
"People should be able to get up and go wherever they want to, whenever they want to," he said.
On Wednesday, Vernon County Commissioners met with Dan Salisbury, assistant district engineer for MoDot, to discuss several transportation issues. Salisbury, who attended a public meeting Tuesday night in Joplin about the proposed three-quarters cent sales tax, said the project would take more than replacing just the sidewalk.
"We started out thinking we could add a sidewalk and got to looking at it and the deck [of the bridge] is worn out." Salisbury said. "It went from a very cheap project to a very expensive project."
"It will look really nice when it's done," Salisbury said about the project, if the tax hike were to pass.
The public comment period for the three-quarter cent sales tax projects, compiled by MoDot, runs through 5 p.m. Friday, and features more than 200 projects in southwest Missouri. Projects in Vernon County include resurfacing several roads, including U.S. Highway 54 from the Kansas state line to Nevada, Interstate 49 to County Road 1800 and Highway W to U.S. Highway 54. Two bridge repairs or replacements are also included on the list.
The temporary sales tax increase is estimated to generate nearly $5.4 billion for state transportation projects between 2015 and 2025. During that time, the sales tax increase will not be applied to gasoline, medications and groceries, and fuel taxes and toll roads cannot be implemented during the duration of the tax.
Residents can leave feedback about the selected projects online at www.modot.org/movingforward. Upcoming public meetings on the tax increase will be held June 18 in Springfield, June 24 in Monett, June 25 in Bolivar, and June 26 in Butler.