The Disability Mobility Initiative is celebrating as the City of Tacoma and Pierce County have begun construction on the last piece of missing sidewalk to the Pierce County Annex – Pierce County’s accessible voting center. In 2010, Disability Rights Washington reported the missing sidewalks in our 2010 Election Accessibility Report, and we re-focussed attention on the issue last November when we released a video featuring Blake Geyen, a Tacoma resident, navigating the heavily trafficked streets directly surrounding the elections center. Blake’s video gained over 18,000 views on Twitter and was featured in The News Tribune. It took another year of advocacy, but with the support of Downtown on the Go, Tacoma Commission for People with Disabilities, Tacoma Councilmembers Kristina Walker and Marty Campbell, and allies at the City of Tacoma, Pierce County and Pierce Transit, we’re hopeful the sidewalk will be completed in time for the November election, ensuring those arriving by bus can safely get to the polls!
