 So welcome. This panel is around disability and cycling making bike advocacy truly inclusive. I have to say putting together this panel which Put together a lot of them. So it took some work But out of all the panels, I guess in the summit, I would say this panel is what I have most to learn from as a able-bodied person cyclist it It never occurs to me about what disabled folks disabled cyclists in in general Work with in our infrastructure our everyday lives and I just learned so much just setting up this conversation with you three That I just feel like I have so much more more to learn and I feel Yeah, really honored that you all were able to be here virtually And I think that's it for me. So we're just going to do short 15 minute presentations Starting off with Megan first then Maddie Then Anna and if Tiffany shows up we can have her and then I'll just be Moderating to some questions to each of them and then open it up to all of you at the end for q&a So thank you all for being here You as well and Megan you want to take us away? Sure I'm still getting it Okay, okay. All right. Well, I will try I will try to ignore the My name is Megan Lynch. I am the founder of uc access now Which is a loose coalition of students staff and faculty working to dismantle ableism throughout the University of California What you can see there is my very first bike, which is a Schwinn little chick Which I rode before I became disabled in 1995 Um, because the public conversation about ableism is much younger than that about other systemic oppressions I thought I'd start out with a definition of ableism that I think is good. It's by Talila TL Lewis That was Put together in conversation with disabled black and other negatively racialized folk, especially dustin gibson And it uh, I guess I should start also by saying that I'll be giving visual descriptions of of the photos and illustrations here Just you know for anybody who's blind or low vision On the right there is a photo from 1884 of two men on the steps of the Capitol One is writing a high wheeler bicycle down the steps of the Capitol Ableism is a system that places value on people's bodies and minds based on societally constructed ideas of normalcy Intelligence excellence and productivity These constructed ideas are deeply rooted in anti-blackness eugenics colonialism and capitalism This form of systemic oppression leads to people in society Determining who is valuable and worthy based on a person's appearance and or their ability to satisfactorily Reproduce excel and quote-unquote behave. You do not have to be disabled to experience ableism And like a lot of other systemic oppressions, this is stuff that we're just sort of soaking in all the time We get raised with it from the time we're young. So as much as you may not think that you uh have Any tendencies towards ableism you do just as you do towards other systemic oppressions It's something that we have to actively work to dismantle. So cycling is not immune from this either It has been part of systemic oppressions in the past Cycling can liberate but when we live in Kiriaki, we have to actively dismantle oppressive systems to make cycling cycling Liberatory and the illustration here is a photo of Los Angeles's east side cycling club Every single person there is a white man They're all dressed in the club uniform except for two folks dressed in business suits The photo here is the same u.s. Capitol. Uh, this is from march 12 1990 It's a photo of the capital crawl which was one of the protests that activists engaged in that Eventually culminated in the signing of a b a into law And there's really nothing more symbolic than the fact that the very center of our government is is you don't have ramps to our government You have stairs So disability is just part of the human experience. Um, most of us will be disabled temporarily or permanently at some point in our lives Uh, pre-pandemic figures were the 26 of people have at least one disability and we know that as a result of this pandemic Many more people have been disabled by this pandemic Disabled people's needs are not special Even though they're often labeled as such because that allows it to be something that they consider extra and don't budget for Our needs are needs. Um, we're not other were you You know you in the future Point we are human It's part of the spectrum of the human experience. Um, so when you're not including us You're limiting the reach of cycling as much as car centric people do Both car centrist and cyclists Uh as communities are ableist and they use disabled people as a cudgel in arguments without including us in meaningful ways And so I sort of made a mean medic here You've got a game of keep away and the person tossing the ball says not everyone can ride bikes What about disabled people the person they're tossing the ball to Says not everyone can drive e-bikes are more affordable than a car And meanwhile the ball just keeps going over the head of actual disabled people that might never get past us It were people are doing things about us And quote-unquote for us, but not involving us So I thought I'd start here with just a selection of the different kinds of cycles that disabled people ride On the left hand side there you have a hand cycle. Uh, you have your you know, kind of typical adult Uh tricycle with a with a grocery cart on it There's a uh a monotube recumbent bicycle on the bottom left is This is a rising popular device It's sort of a aftermarket add-on that you can add to your manual wheel chair, which will turn it into an e-trike Uh, there's a standard tandem there But the thing here is that the the person steering it is sited and the person who's the stoker is blind Uh, and then at the bottom also is this cargo quad recycle, which uh, I ride This is just a selection. There's like actually many many many different Cycle frames that there are out there so Here we are with on the top right is a sort of um photo You would commonly see on twitter and other social media talk extolling the virtues of of you know, Amsterdam and Copenhagen and other places that people Hold up as as being you know, sort of ideals and they are much much better than most of the us is But if you if you hold this up as an ideal without actually noticing That this infrastructure will not accommodate The uh the cycle designs that I just showed Um, so and that's you know, it's not that you can't show Photos of things that are we're the people are doing better than we are Hold the ultimate goal because you need to develop eyes to see that this is not accessible and towards the Top right there is another rack where it's like it's not going to fit those cycle designs And furthermore it requires people to have the strength to lift them up onto that rack and I know I don't have that strength anymore There's a la dot rack there They just were talking about the fact that you can now fit three bikes on but it's only three bikes with a certain frame and then the other two photos there are from uc davis and The catalyzing event for the foundation of uc access now. There's many many ableist things There's systemic ableism throughout uc and we're working on that So there's lots and lots of different issues we work on but the catalyst the thing that made me form it was the fact that The inaccessible bike racks here were hurting me. I mean literally I fell over several times while I was trying to to lock my bike to them uh, I have the condition that affects my hands and uh the act of trying to make my bike Somehow fit onto these racks. I can only park on the very end spot if it happens to be open And even that was really hard and and it was making it so that I wasn't going to be able to type Which is crucial for me to be able to do the work that I came here to do So I tried to work through channels to get that changed and it was just so difficult Just trying to be the good girl because because they were saying, you know, other people are like Well, just lock it up somewhere else. But uc davis taps Will ticket or impound your bike and they impound lots of bikes and sell them off and I can't afford to replace my bike So you're cut and you're stuck between a rock and a hard place here So you can see here that you've got most of those racks are what's called a lightning bolt design And then you can see this like space looking thing And that's even worse because it's got an outer shell So you really you have to have a certain size and shape of bike and they're you know at the same time they're telling me Bikes aren't covered under ADA bikes, you know, we need to fit everything really close together We can't afford this but they'll spend money on that like special space looking thing And then the one on the right I wanted to point out here because it's even doubly worse there The way they've cited the racks not only are the racks inaccessible But you're making it difficult for people in wheelchairs to get past that also inaccessible outdoor furniture So it's really pretty bad Here's an example from the uk of a chicane in a path This is another problem that disabled cyclists experience a lot when they use and by the way I should say also there are disabled cyclists who use regular upright frames. There definitely are but A lot of disabled cyclists are more likely to use these other type of frame designs and these things that are meant to keep at cars And ATVs also keep us out Here's an example here of you know, somebody's really excited about this this Highlander train And and it is definitely an improvement on like what we have here in the states but when somebody here asked about the The cycle that they have And I just realized now I haven't put it in presentation mode have On this side, I'm sorry about that Got a kristiania bike and they were asking asking about it And somebody showed them this example from Denmark where you've got a much more modular setup So that you could have a lot of different kinds of frame designs including it's also shared with strollers and wheelchairs So When something's inaccessible, I think a lot of people will think well, oh, that's too bad Right, you know, but you you'll get over it next time you'll find something better But the problem is is that the A single act of denial of accessibility can really have serious consequences for disabled people And for me, it's been very serious. It's really hurt my health in a huge way So, um, you know, I gained weight and the problem reason that was a problem for me is that I you know For my particular body, I am actually over what is healthy for me But furthermore, it means that the bike I'd already paid for paid off I'm now over its weight rating and I now have to spend money to get a new bike I lost fitness and then this and then the pandemic happened And then I didn't not only did that have me entering the pandemic In a way where I was in lower health and less resilient But it also limited my exercise opportunity to be stirring the pandemic because the The public areas were full of Maskless people and if I'd been able to cycle at least I would have been able to get further away from folks So it was a really serious thing and I'm still experiencing the effects of it I I think unfortunately, uh, some are never going to not be with me now So there it's not all bad news There is some good news. I first, um Got a recumbent in 1995. It was not that easy to find them It was not that easy to get a selection to try out There are more different frame designs available now than ever before That increase in supply has made it slightly more affordable to people downstream Because you know as people move on then used bikes enter the market and also there's more competition Um the ableist attitude about e-bikes being cheating is almost nearly disappeared now And uh, it's also easier to find people than it used to be so Here's a you know, I'm kind of going through these very quickly because I don't want to go over my time But here's a to-do list if you're in a cycle coalition or if you're in a cycle advocacy position Uh The first two here really apply to everybody which is your communications need to be accessible So, you know Look these things up because I don't have the detail to get into it now But if you've got images on html the back things you need alt text and image description You need captions open captions on things and you need to use plain language So that people who have intellectual disabilities can you know not have to struggle with awkward or or complex language Make all your events accessible. This includes an equitable online experience So not just throwing things online, but like if you have networking events in person Why not, you know, why are you not putting together an online networking experience? Um, there should be frequent breaks your venues of course should be wheelchair accessible at the least Uh, you know asl interpreters captions Any bike friendly awards your criteria must include accessibility. Remember how I was telling you about ucd Davis's uh Rex Davis has the the uh Platinum bike friendly rating so clearly nobody was looking at whether it's actually a decent place for disabled cyclists Or healthy place for us to be quite honest So, uh photos and illustrations. I pulled this off the silicone valley bike coalition website But there are lots of other coalition bikes websites. They're the same you generally see Thin people riding upright bikes and that and there's nothing against I used to be one of those but But it's nice to show a more a broader variety and even while I was getting together Photos for this. I think there's a real need for for more creative commons and stock Photo in this because even even what I was pulling from Creative commons and also pictures. I myself have taken, you know, it is mostly white folks too. So it needs to be more Diverse than it is um seek out a disabled cyclist when defining your priorities. We have issues that need a lot And nobody's helping us and so uc access now has a tool Which I will link to at the end Please it allows you to to write The governor the chancellors and the board of regents About the uc access now issues including this accessible cycle infrastructure issue Which is really huge for us and no very few people within the cycling community have Taken that action to support us Stop the obesity crisis framing. It's it's ableist. It's looksist It deputizes people to attack people based on their looks and it's just not good So when you take funding from organizations that have that as their Their mission and and it and it forces you into that framing. It's just very very bad. Don't do it. Please Invite disabled people pay us to speak and share our experience and if you're in the industry here Cycle share needs to include adaptive cycles not as a special program, but integrated with all the hubs If anybody needs convenience, it's disabled people cycle pods need to have accessible infrastructure if you're making like a transit hub if you're making these sort of like larger store Storage locker kind of things those have to be accessible Park needs to create mech stands that work with a variety of cycles when I get my Recome a bike to be fixed when I bring in my cargo quad they can't fit it in their stand And so they have to go through all gyrations which makes them not want to work on my bike Make cycle clothing and cycles that fit fat people and or have adaptive designs Make accessories and infrastructure that work for frame designs other than upright bikes And make the info on the max weight rating for your cycle easy to find When I had that problem I've twice now Since going to school Have experienced really bad ableist incidents that caused health problems for me and it made my weight go up And then I couldn't tell whether my bike was safe for me to ride anymore because the information about the frame rating was really hard to find So that's it for me This year link tree you see access now We'll send you to links for all my stuff the bit. Lee link here is how to go specifically to our action tool the and Megan under strike gun may have to shake gun and access you see are where we are on twitter Thank you so much and that's be it for sure. No The um, you're muted Jared We can't hear you Can you hear me now? Yes. Yes great As I was saying Megan. Thank you so much for presenting. I definitely have some follow-up questions I was just saying you're a wake-up call to me every time that we communicate about this and as you mentioned You know to me early on and you know disability justice as as a topic as a movement is you know still in its infancy It's still young. Um, and I think Being at cow bike, you know and everything you just mentioned about the to-do list is like just something that Something needs to be prioritized asap. So, um, I look forward to asking you some more questions soon Thank you for the presentation again and Maddie, please you're next Great. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. Hi everyone. Hi everyone I am here. I am here. Oh, maybe if you're able to be able to mean Great Okay, um, I am going to go ahead and share my screen. Um, I mostly have Photos to share today, um, but I will begin by introducing myself. So, um Hey everyone, um, my name is Maddie Rueblo. I'm a transportation planner on the accessible services team at the san francisco municipal transportation agency Um, I was also recently appointed as a public member to the us access board, which is a federal agency Um that sets guidelines and regulations for access on a variety of topics And so I'm here today to talk to you about a couple of things first and foremost about our adaptive bike share program in san francisco I'm going to share a little bit about how we've done some work to design bike lanes that work for disabled pedestrians And then share a little bit about my personal experience And this is all sort of coming from The work that we've been trying to do to really build bridges between Cyclists and disabled folks. Um, as Megan said people often hit bike and disability communities against each other Um, I think we are very much stronger together But there's a lot to learn and I think um disabled cyclists and work around accessibility Um is sort of at the crux of that and how we can sort of build coalitions Um for safer streets and better infrastructure um So one way of course to build coalitions is to center the value of inclusive access and um to expand cycling for disabled people Um, so um, I'm going to share throughout the presentation some photos of Adoptive bike share and I will be as Megan did providing image descriptions for accessibility Um, so this first photo is of a cyclist using a recumbent hand cycle Um, and um, this is a photo from our adaptive bike share program And so a little bit about how this program came to be Um, this came initially out of advocacy efforts from folks in the disability community She started in the east bay. Um, there's a really strong history of disability advocacy in uh, the bay area and in the east bay in particular. Um, and uh city staff um started hearing from um disabled folks who said, you know, you have this new bike share program But disabled people aren't included, you know, what what happened to equivalent service and equal access um, and so out of that, uh, there was a technical advisory committee formed and um, there were pilots sort of twin pilots in oakland and in san francisco That started a couple of years ago And so in san francisco the adaptive bike share program initially launched in july of 2019. Um, it's a collaboration between um an adaptive recreation program called borke bay area outreach and recreation SFMTA MTC, uh, san francisco, uh rec park and um bay wheels slash lift Um, and uh the pilot uh ran in 2019. It was initially slated to come back in 2020 and then the pandemic happened And so the pilot continuation Happened last year in 2021 Um, and let's see a little bit about how this program is structured. Um, so borke the adaptive cycling organization They're the staff on the ground and so every week They would have five different types of adaptive cycles available for free in bouldin gate park for anybody to ride They also had other adaptive equipment Such as different seats and straps And lifts to help people transfer from mobility devices to The adaptive cycles. They also are experts in helping people transfer and helping fit people to adaptive bikes And importantly, they were able to keep an eye on someone's Mobility device while they were riding an adaptive cycle as I'll get into a little bit more That's one of the sort of key challenges that we're trying to work through when you think about Different models for adaptive bike share is that if somebody is a wheelchair user And then they're going to transfer to an adaptive cycle Um, they need somewhere to store their wheelchair. And so uh here borke staff were able to do that and also Keep an eye on any service animals if somebody was going to cycle um in the park We got really positive feedback from riders And um, and I I should say so here here's a photo Um of and I so I thought this the slides all have titles for accessibility reasons So that way when somebody goes back if they're using a screen reader They're able to identify each slide and so sometimes we have to make um, I said it compromises Ultimately to get the best accessibility But here's a photo of two people using a tandem adaptive cycle in the park um And so let's go on maybe to this next photo And we have here somebody using a recumbent hand cycle as well um, and so We have really positive feedback from riders on this adaptive bike share program um We did a survey evaluations and people rated the program 4.75 stars out of five People talked about how meaningful the program was Um for them and people who didn't realize that they could cycle had the opportunity to try cycling again um We also heard and this is sort of getting back to the idea of collisions. Um that people who were using the adaptive bike share program were also very in favor of keeping JFK Drive and Golden Gate park closed to cars And so I think there is that sort of nexus there between disabled cyclists also wanting safe streets and Finding community there among other disabled cyclists um And so uh going on here's another photo of um A wheelchair user using electric wheelchair and then um a person using an upright hand cycle And uh here here are those rider reactions So some quotes that I will read so somebody said I learned that I can bike again I used a tandem cycle for the first time Somebody who responded and said keep it going Somebody who spoke about return to functionality from before their CI injury and like having more independence That's sorry. That's a spinal cord injury Um spoke about being able to strengthen their arms. Uh, yeah We heard from people who said that this was a good compliment to physical therapy programs Uh, that it was a good family outing and somebody simply said that they love it. Um And you know, we also we heard from people who said that they were interested potentially in buying adaptive cycles for themselves But there weren't really good opportunities to try out You know, they wanted to be able to try out something before they invested a lot of money in this and so this program because it's free Um really gave people the opportunity to try uh different different types of cycles. Um And so our next steps with this program We're doing a formal evaluation And we're working with partners to figure out how we can continue offering something that people really love And then we're also working to expand the ridership. We we had You know riders over the course of the pilot, but we really think that there are a lot of other potential disabled cyclists out there If you don't know about this program, um, who might be interested in this program Um, and so, uh, one of the other things that we're looking at As we're doing the evaluation is this program model The question of transportation versus recreation Um, because as you can probably tell this is much more of a recreation program right this happens weekly This happens, you know, people start and end their rides in the same place um And you know, we have heard from people who have said they really want to have adaptive bike share available Um, you know at different places throughout the city. Um, as I mentioned, there are some logistical challenges there in terms of figuring out You know, the the benefit of having board staff on hand is that they can help people transfer and that they can Fit people and that they're able to hold on to people's mobility devices Um, but we haven't given up on the idea that there are other potential models out there as well that we can explore um And so I think we're looking at, um, maybe not substituting out one for the other but what are the Many more ways that we can expand cycling access for the disability community One benefit of this current model is that we've seen this really strong sense of community Form among, you know, people who come back from week to week Um, and then also, you know, there are folks, um, who sometimes, uh, you know Folks who are not disabled who are coming into the park every week who started stopping by Saying hi to the board staff and to the folks who are there. Um, and you know, cyclists Who are able-bodied and so there is sort of this community Uh forming and this like wider interest happening around adaptive bike share We also we had an adaptive transportation event last fall where we also invited our Scooter permatees to come bring their adaptive scooters so that folks could try out those scooters and then we also had SMT staff who were there to talk about other projects as well And so this is really sort of emerging as a hub Um where people can learn and try out adaptive Bike share and so we're really excited about this program. We You know, there's there's still a lot of work to do to really, uh, reach as many people as we want to reach Um, but I think if you are in a position Where you're considering doing something like this or you're thinking about whether or not it's worth it I really encourage you to to look into it more and to really go for it Um, I think it's been hugely beneficial. Um, and it does really help Um with this, you know, coalition all community work where, you know We're disabled folks and able-bodied cyclists have the chance to connect and to, uh work together on similar issues Um and to form stronger political coalitions For safe streets So another way and this is a slight shift. Um, we can work to build coalitions, of course Um is to ensure that cycling infrastructure is safe for disabled people who maybe don't cycle disabled people who are pedestrians Because we have seen some resentment From the disability community about bike infrastructure and some of that We what we hear is coming from people who have encountered bike lanes that are decreasing accessibility for disabled pedestrians and so um I'm going to talk just briefly and then mostly just share some resources Because there are a couple of really great design guides. Um, that I think people should look into Here, this is a photo of a diagram. I'm going to talk a little bit more about what what we're seeing here in a second Um, but we have found uh when we're designing bike lanes that it's really important to make sure that we are preserving Access to the curve because some disabled folks need direct access to the curve being dropped off at the end of a block Is not accessible enough. Um, that does not uh meet people's needs And so and I think we've seen sometimes in some bike lane design Um, you know by not considering disabled folks and not considering access people are inadvertently reducing pedestrian access, um for disabled folks and that um Is on its uh by itself a negative thing and then also really does not help Um sort of a broader movement for better and safer infrastructure Um, and so a couple of things here that we've learned. There's an image Um on the left here a diagram that shows a a mid block crossing. Obviously, this is like the kind of Uh design that you would have if you had like unlimited street width and unlimited budget, but um There are other ways to incorporate, you know, mid block crossings to make sure that if you know somebody is getting From if it's a parking protected bike lane or in this case, you know curb and then there's parking Um that somebody is able to get from parking Uh more directly to um the curb Uh, which is really essential and then on the right Here is uh a more common design Um, but it's really one thing here that we know is that it's really important to have a wide enough buffer so that if somebody When somebody is getting out there's room for people to load That there's room in some spaces for a ramp to deploy So that somebody would be able to get out in the buffer space and then have access to A crosswalk and be able to to reach the curb Um, and so, um, I'm not going to get too deep into this because we could have a really long conversation just about design But I I think this is just something that I want to bring up that We hear a lot from the disability community as an issue and is something that I think Cyclists should be aware of um And so, um, I encourage you we have some resources here So, uh, there's a resource called getting to the curb which was developed by walk sf in partnership with s of mta and with disability organizations That is a pretty self-explanatory title. It's about, uh, how to design bike lanes that are safe and that Enable disabled folks to get to the curb. Um, and then sfmda, we have a guide called building blocks for accessible design Um, and that also has some of the same similar content about the best way to build accessible bicycle facilities Um, this is really key. Um, and I encourage you to check these out Um, and then finally I'm going to share a little bit about my own experience I think it's I really enjoyed hearing from Megan about her experience as a disabled cyclist Like my experience is a little different. Um, I I acquired my disability. Um, here's a photo of me This is me, um as a Small child and with my my new bike that I had just gotten Um, that I was very excited about um, and I acquired my disability. Um as a teenager And my disability is a chronic illness. And so I have limits on, um physical ability and energy levels and stamina. Um, I also um have, uh Essentially if I if my heart rate my heart rate is uh very readily Raised and so it is hard for me to bike on a standard cycle more than a few blocks without getting Really out of breath and lightheaded and dizzy. Um, and so I found for me personally that a standard cycle um is not Accessible at least uh as my disability is in its current iteration Um, that being said I have tried e-bikes and while they don't always work for me Depending on how you know with a variable disability sometimes things work and sometimes things don't Um, I have found that sometimes they've been a really really good option for me. It's really fun I I don't have to tell anybody in this room about how uh, what a joy it is to be able to cycle. Um And and so for me, um e-bikes are a really really wonderful Um asset that allow that allow me to cycle. Um, and it is I have to say because the summit is Is an Oakland and I live in Oakland. I am Pretty bummed that the the bike share system in Oakland does not have e-bikes because that would be a really ideal Thing for me as somebody who is not going to use an e-bike on a regular basis, but would use one um, you know occasionally, um The other thing that has been really important for me as a disabled cyclist Um with physical limitations is safe infrastructure. And I think obviously this is really important for everybody, but I Don't feel as confident in my like physical ability to get out of the way of a car in a dangerous situation Um, or you know to quickly to quickly move like to avoid of you know a pothole or something like that and so, um for me that really Discourages me and really limits the amount of cycling that I do because I'm just not willing to take those risks Um, and so you know, I think like when we're talking about things to benefit disabled cyclists It's often things that also benefit. Um non disabled cyclists Um, but I think is in many cases, especially relevant for disabled cyclists The things that do and don't allow us to cycle. Um, and so with that being said, I'm happy to elaborate on Anything I've talked about um in the discussion and the q&a Um, thank you very much. Here's my contact information. Um and looking forward to the discussion Am I unmuted yet? Can you hear me on screen? Great. Yes Thank you, Maddie. Um, thanks for sharing your wisdom. I definitely want to Have some follow-up questions regarding the best way to build coalitions between the cycling community and disabled community like you just mentioned so Definitely looking forward to hear more on that before we get there though. Anna We'll see you on screen. Thank you for joining us Please hear me Yep, I can hear me. Okay. Okay a little delay. Yeah, take it away Awesome. Thanks so much for having me. I'm gonna share my screen as well. Um, for those of you who may be joining online I pasted some links in the chat and um, hopefully those can be made available to folks in the room as well Um, the first is a link to this presentation. Uh, if that's helpful to you for later So, let me go ahead and start by Joe Wonderful. All right. I'm gonna hope you all can see that. So my name is Anna Z Barts I am here in Washington state. I'm the director of the disability mobility initiative Which is a program of disability rights, Washington And um, I am a white woman in my 30s. I'm low vision and my eyes kind of bounce around I have a congenital condition called misdiagnosis. So, um I've had that my whole life and this file on the screen is a photo of me as a gosh Maybe five or six year old. That's my first bike learning how to ride a bike I had a mom who was very physically active and sort of insisted that I learned to ride Even though it was a little challenging for me at first. I think more challenging Perhaps than some other kids But biking was a skill that I but I learned as a kid and it's a skill that has stayed with me You know throughout my life and has been a big big part of my life. Honestly It has provided me a lot of transportation and mobility that I wouldn't have as someone who Can't get a driver's license because I can't test the vision test And so actually this is some photos from this morning There are a lot of folks out there like me who are low vision who do bike for transportation because we can't see well enough to drive a car But we feel comfortable biking Yes, perhaps, you know, I don't see potholes. I run into things occasionally, but I feel really safe doing it Safe enough to bike with my kid. This is a photo of me this morning With a group of other parents. Most of us have e-cargo bikes And quite a few of us here in this photo are our low vision and cannot drive a car and yet, you know, biking for us It does does provide a fair amount of Mobility and access we were actually riding this morning With a council member She's in the middle and the blue puffy jacket in the center photo Trying to get her to help us improve some bike infrastructure in southeast seattle The city is considering widening a road and it's our main bike route right now And we'd like to see it done in a way that creates safe infrastructure for those of us who are biking through this area with our kids So I come to this work I was a video producer for many years and and I got hired as the lead video producer at disability rights, washington back in 2018 Our video team was called rooted in rights and in that role We were hired by napto to create a video on disabled bikers And so tiffany unfortunately isn't here with us today, but she's that's how I met her and actually megan as well Who are in this video and I encourage you to watch it if you have a minute It's available on youtube It's also available on the rooted in rights website if you google disabled people ride bikes It should come up bikes and trikes and tandems and recumbents And it's just a really joyous celebration of all the different ways people with different kinds of disabilities ride And it really helps me You know, there is there is a lot of stigma. I think in the disability community around biking and It felt difficult for me to navigate that when I started becoming more active in disability activism Because you know biking for me has always been something that provided a lot of freedom and is is a big part of my identity But recognizing that you know, it isn't available to everyone and that things that we do As cyclists or as advocates for cycling infrastructure can actively make things more difficult For people with other kinds of disabilities as megan and maddie have talked about and so This video is a way for me to sort of Help connect and recognize that that biking can be part of disability and And just that that that that there are there are ways to do that and celebrate What is possible? And if we're doing it in an inclusive way I want to talk a little bit about some of the other work We do a disability rights washing in the disability mobility initiative around mobility because that's sort of recognition with that knack of video Um Understanding that there was power in those of us who bike for transportation and bike for joy and bike for Bike for mental health. Um, you know that that that um that power of us coming together And having disability be what connected us really Could be translated into creating a more sustainable and equitable transportation systems more broadly And so in my current role as the director of the disability mobility initiative We are busy organizing Non-drivers in washington state and we define that pretty broadly as anyone that you don't have to identify as having a disability Many people um, don't identify as having a disability for a lot of different reasons Um, but you know, if you don't have access to a car If that's not something that's that's regularly accessible to you We've collected stories from people. Um, who who identifies non-drivers for our story map And to date it's got 200 stories from every single legislative district in our state Those stories are available and one of the links that I shared and What we did was we interviewed people and asked about, you know, how they get around and what the biggest barriers are to their um To their transportation uh and and mobility to get where they need to go in their communities and Um, it was also exciting to be able to connect with more disabled cyclists through this project people that I Didn't know we're out there. This is uh, cody shame. He lives in chuelo, washington, which is way north of spokane very small town very rural community and he Can't drive um, but uses this tricycle uh to get around and um around his town and then when he needs to go further He rides a bus to get to nearby communities And when I was visiting him there in chuelo, we started to notice He pointed out to me and I took some pictures, but the the infrastructure Is really a challenge because you know chuelo is a small town But the main road through town is a is a state highway and that state highway Um, there's only one light in in the whole length of the town Which is a couple miles and so for him to get from one side of town to the other from the grocery store To the library where he works or to his house He has to go way out of his way down to this light And then um, the light's super fast He's expected to walk across the crosswalk and the crosswalk was really faded And so we got we got our state department transportation to repaint that crosswalk But um, I think this is you know an example of how The work we're doing Trying to improve the mobility of those of us who can't drive is also really connected to the work around Talking about how highways in the infrastructure we've created for cars Has cut and divided our communities and created not only Difficulty in people getting from one place to another in their community, but also you know the public health problems that having those uh high speed roads through communities creates and so Um, you know this this this road through this town in chuelo is slated to be widened Right south of there and so they're anticipating even more traffic even and especially freight traffic coming from the border in canada to come down to the center of this town and just It brings us to um our work In and really trying to center the needs of people who Can't um can't drive can't get from point a to point b And have these barriers created when we are prioritizing highway infrastructure These are some screenshots from our transportation for access for everyone washington state story Research paper, which is what we developed from the story map last summer Again, I've showed a link for that and I encourage you to check it out It includes a lot of recommendations very specific recommendations around curb cuts and sidewalks and crossings As well as broader and recommendations around inclusion One of our big takeaways has been the need to include people with disabilities in planning departments uh in decision-making bodies and so um It's great to see folks like maddie getting invited into spaces and and being in the rooms where these decisions are getting made Because I think that's what it's going to take to create a more inclusive transportation system One of our tactics and um until we get there until we get in the room And get into those decision-making Positions has been uh our week without driving challenge Which is where we invite elective leaders and transportation agency folks to spend a week Trying to get around their communities without access to a vehicle Without driving themselves in a vehicle. They're they're welcome to get rides from other people from their friends from their family And we did that last fall. We're going to do it again this fall and it really helped I think uh our elected officials and in the state of washington start to recognize some of the barriers that exist in their communities When they tried to not only just take the easy trips um in on the bus or on a bike, but actually every trip they needed to take So yeah, there's some uh quick notes around inclusive transportation planning I'm going to go ahead and wrap up because I want us to have a bit more discussion time. Um And yeah, this is this is linking back to our work with front and center It's an environmental justice coalition here in washington state Where we really are trying to tie the work we do around accessible communities to larger conversations around climate and environmental justice To make sure that the communities that we're working towards really work for everyone And that is my presentation. Thank you. There we go Thank you all you can hear me. Okay. You're right there on screen. Okay. Um, thank you ana and sorry for mispronouncing your name first But thank you for yes sharing your great insights and um, yeah everything that you do um, I guess my first question we have about 25 minutes and I definitely want you all to ask questions as well But one of the first ones I have which I think you all touched on and maybe can elaborate on is What can we as like able-bodied cycling bike community do to Not just reach out but form those coalitions to make the connections to like build off of this This first panel at cow bike, which I want to give a shout out to bikey spay Dave Campbell on the summit actually suggested This session for the summit and it wasn't even on cow bikes radar in that point So definitely I see bikey spay in the room. So I definitely want to give a shout out to that But what can not just state coalitions like cow bike, but all of us do and I know you all can maybe elaborate a little bit more on that I would say It's just not as being defensive when somebody points out that something is able is and you know, I'm sure that Folks who are pointing out other systemic oppressions have the same thing that goes on that the first the first, um Inclination somebody has because we're all trained into these systems is to defend the system And so we just have this knee-jerk reaction to go. No, I'm not doing that. No, it's not, you know, and you just need to To just you know, sit back Listen and take in that the person might have a point because once you do that you're more able to see what Might be going on that you can work on So that would be the very first thing I would mention um, I would say, um, I appreciate that Megan and I think also, um Building on that that just know that it's not always Straightforward or easy. Sometimes it really is The work of access and building access can be messy and sometimes it can feel like or there can be conflicting needs um, and so I think sometimes Uh, my experience is that, you know, when cycling advocates first hear about disabled cyclists sometimes, you know, they're they're really excited And they think like the needs of disabled cyclists are really aligned with other cyclists And then sometimes when it gets a little messy and disabled cyclists need things that, you know, maybe You know, take up more space or need more funding or different kinds of funding um, or You know, as I was mentioning when there's some cycling infrastructure that might be taking away access for other people with other types of disabilities that, you know, that that is just that is part of the process and so not sort of giving up or You know throwing up your hands when it feels like it's complicated and messy and really just trying to embrace that like If we all are able to build relationships and build trust We can sort of work through some of these complications and these, you know, messy issues together Um, and you know, if there's more trust between the disability community and the cycling community Then I think people's first instincts, you know, I hear from disabled people all the time who say like, oh You know the cyclists they get everything and we get nothing, you know, and that is I think that's not You know inherent that's not true But it can feel that way for some people and especially I think, you know, disabled folks Have been waiting for access for a long time, right? Like the ADA was passed in 1990 and they're still, you know You go outside and there are broken sidewalks and missing curb ramps and all of these You know, really basic infrastructure pieces for disabled folks that people need to get around just on a really Daily on a daily basis that don't Existing people and so when they feel like they see like cyclists, you know, and we know that like We know that cars are getting all the money We know like we know that the people in this room know that but I think like, you know, when you're in car culture and you aren't necessarily Around transportation planners and advocates all the time. That's not how you're seeing it. And so I think there's also there's a need for cycling advocates to be To be patient and to really try to build those relationships with disabled people so that that trust can exist Yeah, I'll add one thing to all the brilliant things you all shared. Um, this is Anna so I You know, I think there is once people realize there's a Power and having the disability community sort of endorse and sign on and be in in your active transportation coalition There's a tendency to want to tokenize And symbolically get disabled people, you know as part of your coalition without actually Making changes or making enough changes To to to have, you know, our our needs met And I see this, you know, most blatantly like anytime there's a contract for new scooter companies to come into Seattle The scooter companies all come to town and they want it to meet with us and they want us to sign on Give them letters of support for their, you know, for the the competition that they're going to have to go into to get get the To to be able to deploy scooters in Seattle and and it just it feels like it's very obvious in that case, right? That we're being tokenized And it's less obvious in other situations, but I would encourage you As you would any community To be really careful about Um, just asking people for their symbolic or token um participation and and especially, you know with images And you know trying to show that you're a diverse coalition like you would with with uh racial diversity as well Like are you going to just stick a photo of, you know, someone um in a wheelchair or uh, you know, a hand cycle on your materials without actually Meaningfully engaging with the disability community. It's often pretty transparent that that's what's happening when that happens So, um, it's almost, you know Yeah, what everyone said about taking the time to really build those relationships and making sure that you are truly listening I'm curious. What can Government do, you know, whether it's at the city county or state level? And I know you mentioned a few examples on uh in in washington what the state is doing But I was wondering if Megan or maddie you can say anymore like what Would you like to see or what could be done at the governmental level that's not currently happening now? Oh gosh, there's so much. I mean part of the problem That I see is that you know as maddie was pointing out First of all disabled people have been around a lot longer than since 1990. Okay. We didn't suddenly appear on the scene in 1990 So, you know accessibility could have come much much sooner than that But even with ADA having been signed into law in 1990 Uh, most institutions including our own government Have not really adhered to it and government also has like some section section 504 and 508 You know things that so, you know, for instance, you see you see itself You know, that's the problem here as you see is part of our state government Uh, and they don't adhere to even the in the law by the way ADA is not Like you haven't you know, you don't get to run across the finish line and celebrate after you meet ADA ADA is the minimum. It is the minimum level so It's hard for me to see it's not that government can't help but I feel like there needs to be this huge cultural change because when everything comes from law and compliance You know, it's kind of like I've used this analogy before it's sort of like a you know This comedic routine about you know minimum wage where it's like, you know, I would pay you less except the law won't let me Right, you know, so if it comes from compliance people are always going to be shooting low and it has to come from Care about people in your community and by the way if you happen to be able It's also care for yourself because this is a really easy club to join In fact, most cyclists should know this because you're really just one dooring away from being disabled So you're taking care of yourself by making sure that your community is accessible and I think Uh, you know, certainly if you want to again to repeat this like if you want to join uc access now in terms of pressing uc That would be definitely a government thing that you could make change, but I think um It's a hard that it's definitely easier on the local level and I think like for instance, what an anna is doing with a disability mobility initiative in terms of Getting government officials to really experience what it's like to get around without a car is a brilliant move Thanks my good. Um For for sharing all that I think um, you know, I'm I'm working at the local government level and so I think um What I would like to see I think you know I think local government has a really important goal To play in you know, we're designing and implementing a lot of this cycling infrastructure And so ensuring that you know that bike lanes that we build are wide enough for you know If somebody is riding an adaptive trike right like, you know Making sure that the the structure the infrastructure that we build is accessible for disabled cyclists and that it also is accessible for everybody else Um, I also think you know government has a role to play we have these sort of Interactions and on I mentioned scooter companies, you know, we have this like private mobility Uh, you know movement over the past like decade or so That has come into our cities and so I think government also has a really important role to play in ensuring that private entities who come into our communities are Providing access our our do have adaptive options, you know And I think there are different ways to do that You can also like potentially they could pay into funds that would fund other accessible transportation Like I think there are different approaches But I do think government has an important role to play in holding the line there and not just ensuring That private mobility can come into communities without engaging With the disability community in a meaningful way because we've also seen that like sometimes Emerging mobility can come into communities and decrease access Um, you know by having like, you know scooters or dockless spikes Blocking sidewalks and so I think that is a role that I I want to see uh local governments Really take off a strong stance there And of course I want to see other local governments implementing adaptive bike share programs as well Are working with uh the bike share in their cities to have adaptive bike show Yeah, this is Anna. I'll just have one one sort of thing that we've been Part of the way we're thinking about our work is the disability mobility initiative is Despite our title disability mobility initiative We are really trying to organize more intersectionally across folks who may not identify as disabled and um that that starts to you know become challenging because Historically, right the protections from the ADA. It's like you have to identify it has to be about disability You have to identify as disabled Um, and if it if it's harming you as a disabled person just as much as it's harming someone who's not disabled You don't get it fixed. It has to harm you more One way we see that is you know, you can sue if there's not programs But you can't sue if there's not a sidewalk because the courts have found that well Not having a sidewalk hurts everyone Not just disabled people. And so how do we how do we move? I mean first of all, I want someone to challenge that that part of The law, but how can we move beyond these label this this framework of sort of special things for special people and start How do how do we how do we get beyond that so that it doesn't have to be about self identifying us with a disability? That we can create systems that really are more inclusive um Beyond that historically both frameworks Yeah, I have tons more questions, but I'd rather have you all ask them So just I see some hands and I see three just just go that way There might be some online as well. So hopefully we'll have less time, but eris, please start us off Okay, great. Thank you. Um, it's been uh, Megan said something about we're all only one uh, during away from being disabled You all may also just be some years away from being disabled I have some hearing impairment and of all the sessions here at this conference This has been the one that's been the most difficult for me to hear because of the sound quality over zoom and the lack of captioning um And then there's also the thing that you know people with disabilities are all one Thing right so if I were profoundly deaf like my daughter-in-law or one of my other cycling friends and said Okay, I'm deaf. I need an interpreter for the conference. I'm sure that would have happened But I often in events get treated like oh, you're just You're just being a cranky and now you got okay That you're just being a cranky old lady always all the time asking people to either shut up or speak up or or move or Or you know do some other things here So I want to tell you what you can all do to make things easier for people with hearing impairments at least Um, especially since so much of our lives are on zoom now Fucking enable captioning that is so simple to do and Yet the number of public meetings and company meetings and stuff that I've been on where nobody knows how to enable the captioning We've been doing zoom for two years now people get with it If you are on a meeting with zoom use a fucking microphone so that people can hear you well Right because if the room is bouncy or you're too you're too far away From your laptop then the sound is bad for people listening on it. Um, so Sorry, I'm being all cranky because I've missed a chunk of the actual presentation today Because of those those lacks I guess I'll stop my little tirade right there But um to just you know be some awareness that they're like Anna said I wouldn't identify as disabled It's it's not you know The way I think of myself in the world, but it is an issue in in different places and and that there are a lot of other folks around with Disabilities that maybe you can't even see or know about That that we want to find to accommodate. Thanks Thank you, eras and thank you for keeping us accountable too. And you know, there was a Special captioning that where you had a system set up. We thought we'd get in place. Unfortunately it did not work so Super apologize for that. Here's the next question Hi, um I really took in what you said about the necessity for cultural change Especially at the local level And so I wanted to run by a situation to see if you've encountered anything like this and have any recommendations about How to deal with it. So in our town Uh, the city's being sued Because there are are um, there are folks who are unhoused who are taking up uh a sidewalk And there's a person who has a wheelchair who uses this sidewalk on a regular basis and doesn't have access and so The staff has recommended that there be A quick build bulb out in order to address those competing needs And it seems like okay. Good way to go. It's going to be pretty expensive. There are folks that are very very Unfriendly to unhoused folks and are pretty resentful about the use of the money however These competing needs need to be Um Addressed and while our city is working hard to find housing for unhoused people This is where they are right now and this person in a wheelchair still needs access So, I don't know if any of you have had a similar Not necessarily This competing needs Love to hear what you have to say about it some some of what you said cut out cut out, but You know if I know I I've certainly noticed sorry. I'm getting I'm getting an echo uh I've certainly noticed that because People who are houseless Are between a rock and a hard place in terms of where they can be which is if they you know camp out on private property They're certainly going to get in immediate trouble, right? But when people try to camp out on places that are public property, then that is also an issue so Uh, definitely, you know as you are already pointing out the problem Ultimately is that our society has failed people and is not providing people with homes however What I would ask is To what extent have the houseless people been approached directly and made aware of this issue and asked if They can come up with You know the right amount of space to pass by and the reason I'm saying that is because You know a lot of a lot of folks my impression of of a lot of houseless communities is that that there's When they've been in a certain space for a while they develop their own sort of self-governance methods and so if you If you go To folks and you sort of impose something on them without actually consulting them It's not likely to be really Successful so what you have to do is you know, you've got these competing access needs That there are people in the community who presumably are not houseless who use wheelchairs and need to get through Uh, and then you also have a houseless community and by the way, I need to point out That a lot of disabled people end up houseless. Okay SSI and ssdi Are paying what would have been cost of living maybe in 1970 and they have not updated at all So I know I myself am you know, I feel like I'm about two or three weeks away from homelessness at any given time Uh, and I would end up having to live out of my car if I still had my car And if I lost that I I truly would be on the street So there are a lot of disabled people in the houseless community as well some of whom use wheelchairs by the way So you may find a more sympathetic ear there if you just approach people as people and say look there's this Issue here that it's public property and we want you know We're we're not trying to make it so that you can't use it at all But we need to make it so that other folks who have wheelchair Uh, who have mobility needs can get through as well That would be my suggestion and I'm sure others here have other things to say I think that's a great suggestion and I also think it it speaks to how Uh, so frequently, you know, this is something we talk about in the disability community about people making decisions For us without us. And I think the same thing is true for the unhoused community And so, you know, it's very possible that nobody has approached Uh, the the unhoused folks who are in this particular on this particular sidewalk because it simply didn't occur to them Even though it seems like it could potentially be a really viable solution And then I think the other thing that I want to mention Is just that people do sometimes use Disabled access as like a cudgel against other Needs so you will see sometimes sweeps carried out in the name of accessibility Even though as Megan said many unhoused people are themselves disabled We've also seen this with people trying to close down polling places Because they didn't meet accessibility standards. And when it's the when that's done Obviously we want polling places to be accessible, but when people are closing Things on a widespread level, it's pretty transparent that it's not happening because they care about accessibility because closing a polling place does not improve accessibility for anybody Um, and so that people really are just using access As a way to further their own agenda without Improving accessibility. And so I just think like that's an important thing to watch out for when we're in these kinds of situations Yeah, I think you guys said it all Nothing else to add there Okay, now it does. I think we have time for one or two more questions, but I know ginger here Thanks Hey, this is ginger dwee executive director with bikey spay and uh, I just first want to say I'm extremely passionate about Mobility for people with disabilities and I worked for a number of years at the borp adaptive cycling center Um, and also made the the film about blind tandem cycling that I saw y'all put a little screen grab from there and uh Something that I run into at bikey spay and our cycling advocacy a lot is um, you know working a disability community and Having a lot of the conversations about like street infrastructure really be narrowly access On you know protective bike lanes or other bike infrastructure structure um having that conversation like focused very narrowly on like access for um, wheelchair vans um And while that's all and good. I've always felt that that You know, it really serves the needs of one portion of the disability community and um, doesn't address like a huge amount of the mobility barriers in the community including like number one Income access like a very small number of people are able to have wheelchair vans Anyway, and something that has blown my mind with this presentation Anna was um, your framing of the argument around just organizing non-drivers Which seems to serve a much, you know A majority portion of the community of people with disabilities and have so much more like intersectional Um organizing involved. So Anna, I was interested in hearing more about like how you came to this framing Like what was the genesis of it? And if there's anyone you can connect me to here in california or the bay area Sure. Yeah, this is Anna. So I um My background before I started doing work in the disability community. I mean, I've been disabled my whole life But again didn't identify um, actually until my son was born and had the same white condition And I was like, oh my gosh. I need to stop being ashamed of who I am Long story there, but I was working in labor in labor organizing with um, You know service worker unions, uh hospitality unions. So a lot of low-income workers Many of whom, you know would be considered disabled under some definitions, but weren't self identifying right and so um I saw the work that that we you know, the things that I was hearing from folks in washington state around access and we um As disability rights, washington every year. We surveyed the community To our to determine our priorities were federally funded and so we have to do that and transportation is always up there But I think what happens in the disability community and in every community Um, it's the folks with the most resources and you know, the folks who can afford wheelchair accessible vans Who end up uh determining? Priorities and so I really intentionally wanted to try to see what would happen if we said, okay Yes, that those are all needs, but what about everyone else who can't afford that who doesn't work in our case? Like there's a lot of folks um, microsoft has a great, you know hiring program for folks with disabilities But not everyone is working at microsoft and earning those kind of salaries and so You know really going uh intentionally looking at folks who are low-income folks from you know from communities that don't speak english as the first language You know our tribal communities. What what are the transportation needs there? And starting from that place, and I don't have a california contact for you But i'm working on on trying to start to have this conversation more nationally So I think it is a powerful way to frame things and yes It doesn't you know include everyone's needs But I think by starting to center the needs of the folks who have the least resources the least power That's and doing that sort of in this intersectional way is is a model for moving forward Anybody have a quick question or shall we end there? We're at time so that sounds good. Thank you so much Anna, Megan, Maddie for your time We'll sign off now and thank you everyone for attending