From: Collin Thoma
To: City Council Public Comments
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Item 15.2 Public Hearing South Davis Neighborhood Park Date: Monday, February 27, 2023 3:37:56 PM
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South Davis Park.pdf
Dear Santa Rosa City Council,
My name is Collin Thoma and I am the Systems Change Advocate with Disability Services and Legal Center. I have provided comments on the South Davis Neighborhood Park project.
Feel free to reach out with any further comments or questions.
Thank you,
Collin Thoma
Systems Change Advocate
Disability Services & Legal Center (DSLC)
521 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
(707)636-3076
Dear Santa Rosa City Council,
My name is Collin Thoma and I am the Systems Change Advocate with Disability Services and Legal Center (DSLC). My comments today are to address accessibility needs for people with disabilities regarding the South Davis Park project.
Overall the master plan looks pretty good and provides a good opportunity to create an accessible park to all disabilities. However, there are a couple access concerns that should be addressed and resolved in the plan. The first being it would be good to have a continuous sidewalk to connect the park to the pedestrian bridge over highway 101. The current design has no continuous sidewalk and poses an access issue for the who use mobility devices to get to or from the pedestrian bridge. To access the bridge or park they will have to go through the basketball court which can be tricky to navigate while its in use. They may also need to go into the street which can increase their chance of being hit by a motorist as they may be hard to see.
The other concern is the line(s) that connect the power poll to the ground. This can be a difficult object for people with mobility devices to navigate around. For those who have a vision disability or are blind may not see the line(s) posing a safety risk. To remove this obstacle there should be at least 48 inches of width to provide enough space for someone the safely pass the line(s). In addition, there should be some raised bumps or humps around the line(s) to give a physical indication for those who have a vision disability. It is also important for there to be a pathway that is well maintained as crack and bumps can pose a safety risk to those with mobility devices. In addition, amenities such as playstructure, benches, and workout machines should be accessible to all types of disabilities. While all 3 concepts are good B is the best as they seem to be the most accessible. In addition, the amenities they provide will also be benefitable especially the community garden which can provide a free source of healthy foods. This will be benefitable as it can be harder for people with disabilities to have access to health foods as they usually rely on Social Security or other public benefits. All of these benefits don’t pay much and are all fixed incomes.
Thank you for taking your time to review my comments on the South Davies Park project. Having an accessible park is needed and essential to people with disabilities well being giving them a space to get some fresh and some exercise.
Sincerely,
Collin Thoma
Systems Change Advocate
Disability Services & Legal Center (DSLC)
521 Mendocino Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
(707)636-3076