As a lifelong resident of Maine with a disability, I have seen the changes brought about by the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act one day before my 12th birthday.

That law greatly changed the architectural accessibility of most of the indoor spaces in Maine. Unfortunately, it didn’t address the outdoor spaces of Maine.

Thanks to the United States Access Board we now have rules governing outdoor spaces regarding accessibility. Making these changes, as with anything, requires funding. LD 1156 would go a long way toward making the changes to our outdoor spaces in Maine and in turn making Maine’s outdoors more accessible to everyone.

I have worked for the past three years assessing Maine’s trails for accessibility. There has been a lot of progress made by our local land trusts to construct accessible trails throughout the state.

There are more than 6,000 miles of existing trails that could be greatly improved if the funding existed to fix the low-hanging fruit of accessibility barriers. These barriers include removing rocks and roots, replacing bog bridging with built bridges or boardwalks, and generally widening trails to at least 36 inches. This would not make trails fully accessible, but would open substantially more terrain to more people.

I would urge everyone to strongly support this bond to allow more people to enjoy what Maine has to offer.

Enock Glidden, Albany Township

Copy the Story Link