The upheaval caused by sewer project construction will go down in Key West legend. As it should. The closing of our beaches and the extraordinary cost and inconvenience to repair our neglected sewer infrastructure is the very stuff from which myth and fable are made. All over the country people are talking about our pollution problem. That's only part of it.
Our brand new sidewalks are beginning to cause some concern. Oh, sure they are without cracks and level enough to make any visitor from Ft. Lauderdale feel at home. But that was only on first glance— take another look, folks.
Vast sections of sidewalk are not code compliant or ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) accessible. Our cement walks are strewn with a number of obstacles that make normal walking nearly impossible. City Code Enforcement and Building Department officials do little to ensure that the sidewalk codes and ADA law is observed.
Sidewalks disappear out of approved site plans. Building obstructions grow at the edges and sometimes within the sidewalks themselves. All types of machines, poles, signs and objects cover the space designated for the sole use of pedestrians. No section of the community is immune to the proliferation of junk on the people's right-of-way.
For those who believe this writer tends to exaggerate, take a look at the corner of Eaton and Whitehead Streets. A towering line of steel and plastic boxes, as long as a tour train, has collected on the street corner. Some of the towers contain newspapers and others harbor print media devices to help you part with your money. The entire scene is filthy and unsightly.
These little boxes are somehow protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Even though the newspapers and pamphlets they contain can be obtained in some 3,000 other places around the community, the media moguls demand th right to cover every street corner under literally tons of unsightly metal. It appears that there are more newspaper boxes on the street corners than ADA compliant curb cuts. Perhaps the city, trying to catch up on ADA, should bid the curb cut job amongst the news groups who have no trouble finding every corner in town.
It is not only Whitehead and Duval Streets that are in trouble. A short jaunt around town demonstrates the extent of the problem. Take Olivia and Watson: there are two news boxes sitting directly in the middle of the sidewalk. You cannot pass to the rear or the front of the boxes. You must step off the sidewalk to the street to walk by.
At Southard and William you find much the same configuration with an oversized electric pole thrown in the mix. Although you can squeeze by, if you are on the lean side, do not try it if you are in a wheelchair.
To make certain disgruntled folk (like myself) do no not steal or knock the boxes into the gutter, they are secured to the nearest object. No, they are not bolted like mail boxes— they are tied with ugly and dangerous wires to whatever object is nearby.
Thus you will find the news box umbilical cords joined to electric poles, street sign, bus signs, and other items paid for by the taxpayers of Key West.
Checking the U.S. Constitution, this writer found no amendment allowing anyone to secure anything on a taxpayer paid sign. In fact, it has been a long time policy in this community that no one is allowed to secure anything on a tree, electric pole or city sign, for whatever reason. Just try to put a political poster on an electric pole and see what happens.
A group of very fine people has begun to look at the problems growing on our sidewalks. They need our support to make our town look better, to make our sidewalks easier to use, and to make them more accessible to handicapped and disabled people. Hopefully, all these newspaper folks will scoop the story.