GUEST OPINION: Paving Santa Rosa Creek trail will ensure access for everyone

<p>With only a tiny fraction of Sonoma County regional park trails available to the disability minority, it is surprising that there is such strong opposition to paving 2.14 miles of the north side of the Santa Rosa Creek trails.</p><p>As it is, people who can walk on gravel have a trail on both sides of the creek. However, a particular group is expressing outrage that people with disabilities and parents with strollers would have an equal opportunity to enjoy what they enjoy by gaining access to one side of the creek.</p><p>Those opposed to the paving of the trail have access to hundreds of miles of trail in the county, trails that are not available to persons with disabilities. </p><p>Those opposed have been given more access to the north side of the Santa Rosa Creek trail with the construction of three bridges with funds from the federal government. The federal money was provided for the purpose of creating more accessible trails for everyone.</p><p>Now that the bridges are constructed, those opposed want to stop any further improvements on the trail. They express the belief that their experience on the trail will be lessened if they have to share it with bicyclists. They express the belief that the paving will damage the trail environmentally, though whatever damage will be incurred was incurred already by clearing it, bull dozing it, scraping it, compressing it, and putting gravel on it for their use. </p><p>I use a wheelchair and find recreational opportunities in the county extremely limited. I would love to use the Santa Rosa Creek trail. It will provide a recreational opportunity not only for me but for my children as well, who want to share their love of hiking with me when they visit.</p><p>So far, we have found only about 20 miles of trails that we can use. (I don’t count the portion of the west county trail that parallels Highway 12 because of the highway noise and lack of natural habitat.) </p><p>However, the issue of sharing or not sharing the new trail aside, there are serious legal issues.</p><p>More than four decades ago, Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act was enacted by Congress. It prohibits any agency receiving federal money from discriminating against people with disabilities. Almost two decades ago, George H. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act. That act makes it illegal for Sonoma County to discriminate against people with disabilities, whether they receive federal dollars or not. </p><p>This means that Sonoma County, which has received federal funding for the trail, falls under the requirements of both Section 504 and the ADA. </p><p>In order to ensure that the county does not discriminate under both federal laws, it must do several things. One, it must remove barriers to their programs and services, such as trails. Two, it must ensure that all new construction does not discriminate against people with disabilities. In addition to these federal laws, the California Civil Code and California Government Code require that local governments not discriminate against people with disabilities. These laws apply as well to facilities such as county trails.</p><p>The county cannot chance violating federal and California laws that protect the rights of people with disabilities. It’s not a matter of sharing or not sharing the trail with bicyclists. It’s a matter of civil rights.</p><p>Oh second thought, it’s not surprising that people think that sharing the environment with people with disabilities is irrelevant and insignificant. That’s why we have Section 504, the ADA and California Civil Code as well.</p><p>The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will take public input on the issue of paving the trail on Tuesday. The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. at 575 Administration Drive, Room 100 A.</p><p>HolLynn D’Lil is a former accessibility specialist for the state Department of Rehabilitation and author of the “Access Guide - Survey Checklist,” a state publication jointly produced with the Division of the State Architect. She lives in Graton.</p>