Barricades Were Blocking Wheelchair Access On The Kalamazoo Mall For An Entire Block

The Downtown Kalamazoo Collective has responded to a complaint one resident had recently that made access to the Kalamazoo Mall increasingly difficult for those who are handicapped.

Barricades were replaced in areas of the Kalamazoo Mall that made it incredibly challenging for wheelchair users to access curb cuts, and one resident made a video explaining how they could improve accessibility near handicap parking.

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The barriers were placed in a way that, in order to easily access the sidewalk, wheelchair users would have to travel an entire block on Kalamazoo Mall to access the nearest curb cut to get to the sidewalk, only to retrace their path back to where they began.

In response, the Downtown Kalamazoo Collective was quick to acknowledge the ideas and responsibly took initiative to make sure the issue was solved.

Thank you for pointing this out to us. We appreciate the explanation and will definitely be mindful of the curb cuts for future road closures for our events. How does this play out when there are events that use the road barricades? We want to pass the information along to the entities that use those types of barricades as well. Accessibility for everyone is important.

Outside of road barrier movement, it would be really cool if there were temporary curb cut ramps out during tented events on the Mall where traffic flows from road to sidewalk. I acknowledge this isn't free like moving the barricades, but 4-8 ramps would cost less than $500 and it would make a huge difference for people in mobility devices AND people with strollers.

Things like this are going to happen now and then, but having clear communication freezes up any major issues that may pop up and restores faith and trust in the community. Downtown Kalamazoo Collective did a great thing by acknowledging the issues and doing what they could to solve them.