Accessibility and Car-Free Zones

In a piece for Mother Jones, Julia Métraux explains how accessibility is being used as a “political football” to push back against car-free zones and other pedestrian infrastructure that some say harms mobility for disabled people. “Opponents of such initiatives have called them ‘exclusionary,’ ‘not progressive or inclusive,’ and bound to ‘hurt people with disabilities,’ pointing out that many disabled people simply need cars to get around.”

Yet disabled people are more likely not to drive, and car-heavy cities are more dangerous to disabled people, says expert Anna Zivarts. “A 2015 study by Georgetown University researchers found that the rate of vehicle-pedestrian deaths among wheelchair users was 36% higher than that of the overall population.”

Even when accessibility is an issue, it’s often easily solved. “In 2022, when San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park permanently closed a major boulevard to cars, opponents, including city Supervisor Connie Chan, said it was disabled and aging folks who would pay the price. But free shuttles, ­accessible to anyone, now bridge the gap.”

San Francisco also maintains a dialogue with disabled residents to ensure its programs serve them. When the city was evaluating its scooter sharing program, feedback from a group of students with disabilities helped the city opt for scooters with backrests and larger wheels for stability to ensure more people can ride them.