Call for Stories: Share your experiences to highlight the value of educational accommodations

An illustrated group of kids, one using a wheelchair, sitting around a table working on a robotics project together.

In response to pandemic-related school closures, the U.S. Department of Education was considering waiving part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities. While they have since released a statement that this waiver will not happen, accessible virtual learning remains a crucial issue.

The potential gutting of educational opportunities for students with disabilities did receive some media coverage (check out some local coverage, including this Seattle Times piece and this piece from Crosscut), but that coverage has been focused on stories from parents and educators of disabled kids. We recognize that we have also been a part of that problem, and our goal is to change that.

We want to hear directly from disabled students currently being impacted, as well as disabled adults who can speak to why access to educational accommodations is crucial, and how these accommodations (or a lack of them) impacted their lives. We especially encourage people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to share their stories, and will work with you to support you. We are committed to making it accessible to share your story. Please let us know how we can best accommodate and enable you to do so.

We invite you to pitch us a blog post or we can do a 30-minute remote video interview (that we will edit). Both opportunities are paid. Check out our COVID-19 resources page for examples of recent blogs and remote videos.

If you’d like to share your story, please feel free email us at info@rootedinrights.org with the following info or you can also leave this information in a voicemail at: 206-324-1521 extension 242

  • Your Name:
  • Your City and State:
  • Your Disability:
  • A few sentences about your experience with special education/educational accommodations as a student.
  • Whether you would prefer to write a blog or be interviewed for a video (that we would edit for you).
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Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

COVID19: Drive Thru Only Services Must Provide Access to People Who Cannot Drive

Sign that says "Yes we're open, Drive Thru Only"

Update – April 27, 2020: King County has opened two walk-up COVID-19 testing sites in downtown Seattle and Rainier Beach

Here is information about how to get a ride to a COVID-19 testing in King County. For regional emergency transportation options, RARET provides weekly COVID updates. 

For other drive-thru services, many businesses in Seattle are accommodating walk-thru customers. If you are refused service at a drive-thru only location, let us know at info@rootedinrights.org. 

April 8, 2020

Dear Mayor Durkan and Members of City Council, 

As a result of many businesses converting to drive-thru only, transit-dependent people, in particular members of the disability community who are blind and low-vision, aren’t able to access services. Many drive-thru only establishments refuse to serve people walking, biking or rolling, excluding those without access to cars or those who cannot drive. This is particularly critical to consider in the case of drive-thru COVID-19 testing facilities. 

This issue has received coverage on KOMO News last week, and was highlighted by the National Federation of the Blind in a press release Friday

Our communities are facing unprecedented challenges at this moment – challenges that are complex or incredibly difficult to address. This, however, is a problem that is easily resolved. 

In 2018, Portland started requiring all drive-thrus to serve people walking and rolling. Seattle should immediately adopt similar guidelines to ensure that people without access to cars still can access food, healthcare and other critical services. 

Sincerely, 

Alex Hudson, Executive Director, Transportation Choices Coalition

Alice Lockhart,  350 Seattle, Transportation Team

Alison Eisinger, Executive Director, Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness

Anna Zivarts, Rooted in Rights/Disability Rights Washington

Bree Boyce, Hopelink Mobility Management

Brittney Bush Bollay, Sierra Club Seattle Group

Dorene Cornwell, Vice Chair, WA Council of the Blind Advocacy Committee

Esther Handy, Interim Executive Director, Puget Sound Sage

Gordon Padelford, Executive Director, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways

Ivanova Smith, Chair of Self Advocates in Leadership SAIL

Katie Wilson, General Secretary, Transit Riders Union

Keith Kyle, Seattle Subway

Kimberly Meck, MRC, CRC, CDMS, Executive Director, Alliance of People with disAbilities

Marci Carpenter, President, National Federation of the Blind of Washington

Michael MacKillop, Acting Executive Director, Department of Services for the Blind

Mike McGinn, Feet First

Vicky Clarke, Cascade Bicycle Club

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Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Seattle Times OpEd – Coronavirus: Remember students with disabilities in a time of crisis

Screenshot of the SEattle Times Oped "Coronavirus: Remember students with disabilities in a time of crisis"

Coronavirus: Remember students with disabilities in a time of crisis

Op-Ed in the Seattle Times by Rooted in Rights Program Directed Anna Zivarts.

Excerpt:

“For students with disabilities, school is often where they have access to physical, speech, mental-health and other therapies. As schools around the nation are closing, disabled students and their families are being left without supports.”

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Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Disability Rights Washington Files Complaint over COVID-19 Treatment Rationing Plan in Washington State

virus drawing

Our parent organization, Disability Rights Washington, has filed a complaint against Washington’s plan to ration #COVID19 care and how it discriminates against disabled people.

The #COVID19 rationing plan would give priority to treating people who are younger and healthier and leaves those who are older and sicker—people with disabilities—to die.

The New York Times is covering the complaint, and the release of the rationing plan.. Read Ari Ne’eman’s op-ed for a compelling argument for why we need to stop discrimination against disabled people in rationing #COVID19 care.

Rooted in Rights will be collecting stories from the disability community in response to care rationing and the #COVID19 pandemic. If you’d like to share your story, email us at info@rootedinrights.org, or leave a voicemail at 206.324.1521 x 242.

You can read the DRW press release here and the complaint here.

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Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Disabled Voters Now Have A Sidewalk to Get to Pierce County Elections Center

Sidewalk under construction

Monday, March 9th, Rooted in Rights will hold a press event to celebrate the new sidewalk connecting the Pierce County Election Center to the Pierce County Transit Route 57 bus stop, and highlight the need for the missing sidewalk connection to the Route 3 stop. 

“These improvements are critical to ensure that people with disabilities can safely access the Pierce County Election Center, a public building that has accessible voting equipment that allows people with disabilities to vote freely and privately,” said Blake Geyen in a video that shows him navigating the heavily trafficked streets directly surrounding the elections center prior to the building of the new sidewalk.

Some voters with disabilities cannot vote privately via paper ballot, and rely on the accessible voting machines at the election centers in order to cast their ballots. 

The lack of accessible sidewalks presented in Blake’s video has been a long-standing problem for voters with disabilities in Pierce County. In 2010, Disability Rights Washington reported the missing sidewalks in our 2010 Election Accessibility Report.

Blake’s video has over 16,000 views on Twitter and was featured in The News Tribune this past November. After the attention from the video, the City of Tacoma paved a new sidewalk to connect the Pierce County 57 bus stop to the Elections Center. This is the first election disabled voters will be able to use this new access point. 

“There is nothing more effective for advancing public policy than an authentic story of personal impact,” said Julie Anderson, Pierce County Auditor. “As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.” 

Downtown On the Go (DOTG), Tacoma’s transportation advocacy organization, is thrilled to support Rooted in Rights in their advocacy work here in Tacoma. Kristina Walker, executive director of DOTG,  said “Rooted in Rights is an incredible resource and we can all learn from them. I look forward to continued partnership and Rooted in Rights influencing additional safety on our streets for people with disabilities in Tacoma and Pierce County.”

“We must do everything we can to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote – especially for those of us who are transit dependent,” said Anna Zivarts, Rooted in Rights Program Director. “There are real consequences to not having our votes count and having the transit services we rely on get cut or underfunded.” 


Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Victory! Tacoma Builds Missing Sidewalk to Pierce County Elections Center

Sidewalk under construction

This is exciting news – after our video with Blake Geyen led to a Tacoma New Tribune profile, Tacoma moved to build the section of missing sidewalk connecting the nearest bust stop to the Pierce County Elections Center.

Here’s an update from Gail Himes, the City of Tacoma ADA Coordinator:

Good news- despite the wet weather our City crews were able to pave a pathway from the crosswalk push button at the intersection of S 35th and Steele Street to the Pierce County Voting Center parking lot. The pathway is within the landscape area and keeps pedestrians away from vehicular traffic. I have attached some pictures but did not include text within the pictures. Let me know if you need more of a description of this work. Also, once we get some dry weather, we will be restriping the crosswalks at this intersection. Pierce County staff will be striping a walking path in their parking lot that connects this new accessible pathway to the Voting Center.

If you live in Tacoma or Pierce County and are interested in working with Rooted in Rights on transportation and streets advocacy, let us know. We’re building a Pierce County action committee!


Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Apply to intern with Rooted in Rights and King County this summer!

King County Job Information page

Coal Creek Sewer Upgrade Program

Intern will gain knowledge of and experience with community outreach practices; learn and develop skills in event planning and communications, likely to include creative content planning, script writing, and videography to create professional quality, mission-based video content. Intern will spend about half the internship hours working with the team on developing and implementing strategies to improve project accessibility for all populations including those living with disabilities. Deliverables could include educational videos, revised event planning documents and new tactics to make WTD meetings, events, and programs more accessible. The intern will work with Community Services staff to learn about outreach, participating in events, meetings, and programs, and other related duties as they express interest.

Requirements:

  • Interest and some experience in personal or impersonal communications for a diverse audience.
  • Must be a competent writer.
  • Must be committed to creating Equity and Social Justice in workplaces and communities.
  • Must have personal experience and/or roots in the disability community.
  • Must effectively relate to people with all kinds of disabilities. Competency in American Sign Language is highly desired but not necessary.
  • This work will be best performed and of most benefit to a student pursuing studies in Disability Studies, Disability Inclusion/Access, Accessible/Adaptive Recreation, Public Involvement and Communications Studies with emphasis on equitable outreach and accessibility.
  • Accommodations will be provided to students with disabilities.

Location: King Street Center-201 South Jackson Street, Seattle, WA and field work.

Apply by March 1: 

Application information and more details here.


Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Victory! City of Seattle Changes Reimbursement Rate Structure to Increase Supply of Wheelchair Accessible Cabs

Taxi signage with wheelchair symbol

Access victory! The City of Seattle is changing the reimbursement rates for Wheelchair Accessible Taxi owners to get more accessible cabs on the road, especially at night. Read the coalition letter we sent asking for changes last fall, and for more context, check out this Seattle PI article which covers the challenges of trying to access wheelchair accessible cabs in King County.


Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

How have wildfires impacted your health and your community?

smokey sky with Seattle skyoine

Crosscut just reported on a new study from the University of Washington that showed that Washingtonians were more likely to die on smokey days.

This research reiterates what we know from our lived experience – poor air quality, in particular from wildfires, has serious health impacts.

What have been the impacts of poor air quality on your community and your health? Let us know on the survey below.

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Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Victory! Seattle Emphasizes the Importance of Clearing Sidewalks in Snow Emergencies

A blanket of snow covers an open space; a sidewalk buried underneath a sheet of icy packed snow.

During winter 2019 in Seattle, many disabled folks were trapped in our homes for weeks because property owners weren’t aware they had a responsibility to clear snow and ice off their sidewalks. This was my first winter back in the Northwest, and coming from NYC where it was socially unacceptable to leave your sidewalk uncleared, it was horrifying to me that there wasn’t that expectation here in the Northwest. Even big businesses like the Chase Bank located next to the train station in my neighborhood went weeks without clearing ice from their sidewalks.

We knew we wanted to change this, so we led a campaign with my team to change expectations for this winter. We started by collecting more than 50 stories from disabled Seattleites trapped by uncleared sidewalks, and produced a video (that ultimately got retweeted by AOC), to highlight Conrad’s snow experience. Ultimately, by working with the Mass Coalition, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, and Councilmember Lisa Herbold, we were able to pass legislation that created a public education program about the snow & ice removal responsibilities of private property owners.

This resulted in the City of Seattle hiring us to produce a video PSA, and sending a mailer in Seattle utility bills about the importance of sidewalk clearing. In press conference and on social media, Mayor Jenny Durkan and other Seattle officials emphasized the importance of keeping sidewalks accessible, a marked change from communications about winter weather preparedness the previous winter.

This victory represents an important change in our societal bias that only people driving cars have transportation needs. Many of us walk and roll to transit stops, and for us, accessible sidewalks are just as critical as roads. This year, we will continue our campaign to get the City of Seattle to step up efforts to repair cracked and crumbling sidewalks that pose access barriers.

We all have a right to to live in accessible communities and have access to transportation that gets us where we need to go. If you live in Washington State and want to join other folks from your community working on transportation accessibility, let us know!

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Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Rooted in Rights Team Highlights from 2019

Rachel watches a DO-IT Scholar edit a video on an iPad.

“I enjoyed working with folks in our Storytellers programs and disabled youth through our various community partnerships. I am excited that we are creating more robust, hands-on training experiences for both of these groups.”

Rachel

“I enjoyed being able to work with the National Council on Independent Living to produce a 10-part sex-ed video series for and by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We covered: what sex is, what gender is, what a healthy relationship looks like, how someone can get pregnant, and how to protect yourself against sexually transmitted diseases and infections.”

Peter

“I’m really proud of the work we’ve done on the Parenting Without Pity Project. From podcasts and blog posts to our presentation at the annual National Council on Independent Living conference, I’m excited that these resources are out there to empower parents with disabilities and non-disabled parents of kids with disabilities.”

Emily

“I’ve gotten to share, advocate, and learn with so many cool people doing awesome work. One of my most prominent collaborations was with Noela Luka, a Kenyan documentary filmmaker who came to work with Rooted in Rights in May. We came up with a storytelling workshop for people with mental health disabilities, like us, back in Nairobi. Working with Noela in Kenya we trained participants to produce their own advocacy videos on mobile phones. I also got the opportunity to present on accessible media strategies at Netroots in Philly! I’m also really proud of the poetry collaboration video “A Blessing All My Own” written and performed by Angela Lemus-Mogrovejo and Claudia Castro Luna.”

Allexa

“I’m particularly excited about how our transportation access work has allowed us to build relationships and work in broad, and sometimes unexpected coalitions with community groups, unions, environmental and transportation advocacy organizations, bringing disability into conversations where it previously hadn’t been included, to achieve real and meaningful change. Watch our mobility justice videos and check out our list of victories!”

Anna

“My favorite project this year was definitely our Don’t Block the Box video, where we teamed up with Transportation Choices Coalition to support legislation to allow traffic enforcement cameras. Although the bill didn’t pass, our message about pedestrian safety got out there – our video was even on the NEWS!”

Vanessa

We’re brimming with stories to share! Help Rooted in Rights make real change by centering the voices and experiences of people with disabilities.

Celebrating 2019 Transportation Wins – and Looking Towards 2020

People in the rain on sidewalk with person in orange WSDOT vest

Disabled Pedestrian Safety

With the Moving All Seattle Sustainably (MASS) Coalition, we won legislation calling for the City of Seattle to adopt a new comprehensive signals policy that would include more time to cross the street and give  pedestrians a head-start over turning cars. Also, after our advocacy on the need to slow down cars to prevent pedestrian deaths, the Mayor announced 25-mph speed limits city-wide.

Preventing Scooters and Bike Share from Blocking Access

With the Seattle Department of Transportation and the Portland Bureau of Transportation, we created scooter and bike share etiquette videos. With the MASS coalition we also sponsored a piece of legislation requesting Seattle fund more scooter parking and implement fines against mis-parked bike and scooter share. We are now convening a quarterly meeting with transportation coordinators from Seattle, Redmond, King County and other jurisdictions with scooters and bike share to talk about best practices for resolving access issues. 

Accessible Sidewalks

As part of the MASS Coalition, we also pushed for legislation that would require Seattle to fund the construction of missing sidewalks and develop a plan  for holding property owners responsible for maintaining their cracked and damaged sidewalks. Because our advocacy around the impacts of uncleared sidewalks \on disabled pedestrians during winter storms, this legislation also pushed Seattle to do more to educate property owners about snow clearing

And everything else!

We also worked as part of the Fare Share Coalition to push ride hailing companies to provide wheelchair accessible vehicles, and to increase the number of wheelchair accessible taxis in King County. And we made sure disabled voices were part of the conversation around the impacts of I-976. 

This year, we’ll continue to tell our stories to limit the impacts on transportation budget cuts on disabled, transit-dependent Washingtonians. Last legislative session, our viral “Don’t Block the Box” video was critical to the near-passage of the automatic traffic safety camera legislation that would allow cities to ticket vehicles for blocking crosswalks and bus-only lanes. We’re hopeful this year we’ll see the legislation pass!

And we look forward to replicating some of our success in Seattle in more communities statewide. To do this, we need to recruit volunteers and interns from communities across the state, so if you’re disabled are impacted by lack of accessible or reliable transit options, we’d love to collaborate with you!

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Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Rooted in Rights Wins Three Community Awards for Authentic Advocacy

Vanessa and Anna accept award from Puget Sound Sage

In 2019, Rooted in Rights received three awards in recognition for our groundbreaking storytelling on transportation and access. See what these community organizations are saying about our work!

Puget Sound Sage 2019 Vision for Justice Award

“Over the past year, Rooted in Rights has added a critical lens to many of our program areas, including our transit, climate, and housing work. Within our climate justice work, Rooted in Rights has helped us think through how disability intersects with climate change, emergency preparedness, and energy policy in our research and organizing, which strengthens our ability to more effectively organize and create policy that centers the needs of those most marginalized in our society.”

Transportation Choices Coalition 2019 Hall of Fame

“Rooted in Rights is a disability rights advocacy nonprofit making our transportation system work for everyone. Rooted in Rights was a critical partner in our Don’t Block the Box work on enforcing intersections and bus-only lanes in Seattle to improve pedestrian safety and keep people and transit moving.”

Downtown on the Go Transportation Innovator Advocacy Award

“Eighty-one percent of Pierce Transit Riders are dependent or semi-dependent on transit and the stories like the ones being told by Rooted in Rights articulate the urgency and importance of a connected transit system.”

What this means to Rooted in Rights:

Because of the stigma around disability, it’s difficult to go into spaces that haven’t traditionally included this lens. Some of the things that we need are complicated or hard or expensive – or just things that nobody in that room has thought about before. So we want to thank Puget Sound Sage, Transportation Choices Coalition and Downtown on the Go for being so open to including us in their work. Because the world that we can fight for together is a world that is better for our communities – poor people, working people, for immigrants, people of color, and those of us with disabilities. And it absolutely makes sense to include us – and as more than just props – we need to be at the table, in elected office, fighting with you for the accessible, transit-inclusive future we all dream of.

Help us continue our award-winning storytelling and advocacy – donate!

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Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Let us know – how are you impacted by broken Sound Transit elevators and escalators?

two broken escalators at Sound Transit station

Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.

Victory! Seattle City Council Passes Resolutions that Will Increase Access on Our Sidewalks and Intersections

Clark points to giant posters of snow covered streets

On September 30, the Seattle City Council approved two resolutions to make our sidewalks and intersections safer and more accessible for disabled folks, and more usable for all pedestrians!

The first of the two resolutions to address problems identified by the MASS Coalition (in which Rooted in Rights participates) directed the Seattle Department of Transportation develop policy options for the maintenance of existing sidewalks, create a public education program on snow and ice removal responsibilities, and develop a program to enforce snow and ice removal requirements by private property owners.

The second resolution directed the Seattle Department of Transportation to develop a new signals policy to ensure that pedestrians of all ages and abilities can cross our streets safely.

These victories were a response in part to a Rooted in Rights initiative in which people like DixinConrad and Carol shared their stories in advocacy videos, and the dozens of other folks who shared their stories online about their experiences with sidewalk access and in last winter’s snow emergency.

Thank you! Together we can make our communities more accessible, inclusive places!

Photo Credit: Dixin Yan @DixinYan


Rooted in Rights exists to amplify the perspectives of the disability community. Blog posts and storyteller videos that we publish and content we re-share on social media do not necessarily reflect the opinions or values of Rooted in Rights nor indicate an endorsement of a program or service by Rooted in Rights. We respect and aim to reflect the diversity of opinions and experiences of the disability community. Rooted in Rights seeks to highlight discussions, not direct them. Learn more about Rooted In Rights

Click here to pitch a blog post to Rooted in Rights.