How to get around with disabilities

David Kennedy and Mayor Hickenlooper roll and stroll
(Photo: City of Denver)

    Pushing a person in a wheelchair isn't easy.   

And it's especially difficult if you're pushing through a crowd of thousands milling around with turkey legs and cups of beer in their hands, say at the Taste of Chicago. I know, because some years ago, I did that with Larry Gorski, who was head of the City of Chicago's disability program.

   Gorski, a wonderful man in his 40s, had used a wheelchair since he suffered a spinal  hemorrhage several decades earlier. Small he wasn't. And those few hours sweating, lurching and maneuvering gave me a glimpse into the lives of others who lack some mobility.
    Because October is Disability Awareness Month, the Denver Commission for People with Disabilities and the Denver Office of Disability Rights sponsored three days of activities. In one, Mayor John Hickenlooper and others embarked on a similar journey to mine Wednesday, paired up with citizens who have to cope with different forms of disabilities: blindness, wheel chairs and even -- no kidding -- pushing baby carriages. The mayor traveled with David Kennedy, afflicted by polio as a teen who has served as the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee's disability rights advocate for the Democratic National Convention.
    The group started out at Union Station and made their way to City Hall. As Hickenlooper told 9News, it was a way to learn how why we should not be "taking our mobility for granted." The mayor then explained to 9News reporter Gregg Moss that the administration is indeed committed to making Denver one of the most user-friendly places in America, spending routinely on things such as curb cuts and audio alerts at stop lights.
    That pair stopped at a post office, boarded both Light Rail and a 16th Street Mall shuttle, according to a spokesman. And if the mayor's experience was like mine, it opened his eyes. Not that the city is standing by. For instance, there's the The Living Streets Initiative, which was also part of the outreach, which is examing ways to make things more people-friendly, especially around transit.
    In truth, as America and Colorado's population grays, more and more folks will want to stay active -- but need a little bit more ease than in younger days, perhaps, when wearing Lycra tights and running shoes was standard.