Benefield: Santa Rosa accessibility advocate praises city’s quick response to blocked sidewalk report

A mass of wet leaves on a sidewalk might not seem like a big deal.

But to Ken Rossi, a stretch of sidewalk slick with fallen leaves, poses a significant problem.

That’s because he can’t sidestep them, or skip over any other obstacle or pothole.

Blind since he was a junior at Piner High School, Rossi, 59, has used a wheelchair for nearly that long after he lost his ability to walk because of a sensory motor disorder.

But make no mistake, he gets around.

Case in point: One afternoon earlier this month, Rossi left his home just east of Montgomery High School and made his way to Montgomery Village.

En route, he encountered what he described as a mass of wet leaves on the sidewalk near the high school parking lot.

The wheels on his manual chair couldn’t get traction. He struggled to get through. Even using his white cane, he couldn’t feel where the sidewalk ended and the curb or landscaping began.

“It makes it really hard to push and navigate because you have a hard time figuring out where the sidewalk is and the dirt is,” he said. “You almost need four wheel drive, so to speak.”

“It wasn’t very safe the way it was,” he said.

So he took out his iPhone, which has features for the visually impaired, and pulled up the MySantaRosa app. He snapped a photo of the leaves and allowed the app’s location services to pinpoint the spot.

He hit “Submit.”

"I only make comments when it’s something that is positively bad,“ he said. ”That doesn’t happen too often.“

Then Rossi made his way to Montgomery Village and did some banking. He guesses it was less than two hours later that he was headed back home using the same route.

The sidewalk had been cleared.

Santa Rosa city maintenance worker Matt Timmer was on call and hit the spot almost immediately.

“I was like, ‘Wait a minute, this is cleared. Whoa,’” Rossi said.

So impressed was Rossi that he wrote a letter to the editor of The Press Democrat with a public thank you to the city for its efficiency.

“The city has always been responsive to me, but not in this record time,” he said.

Rossi is known in city circles. He’s a longtime advocate for accessibility and is keenly alert to things most people may not take note of — a deep crack in the sidewalk or weeds growing at the base of a sidewalk chair ramp.

Rossi used to take part in what were dubbed “Walkabouts” with city officials. The idea was to move through neighborhoods pointing out issues and potential issues for people with who have different sight and mobility needs.

Rossi said those walks don’t take place any longer, but that he’s “gone rogue,” alerting city employees when he finds problems in his daily travels.

“I just do it on my own,” he said.

An inquiry to the city about Rossi’s submission revealed this: From the minute Rossi hit “Submit” to the minute the issue was considered resolved by city crews, a mere 46 minutes elapsed.

“Public works is really putting an effort into being very responsive to all of those tickets,” city spokesperson Lon Peterson said.

Issues of safety, accessibility and emergencies — think nonworking traffic lights or downed trees in the road — rise to the top of the queue.

A blocked sidewalk is a safety issue.

“The city takes ADA issues seriously,” Peterson said.

The MySantaRosa app launched in 2020, the website portal in 2018.

Users can report an issue in categories that include traffic engineering and electric, parks, streets, ADA and parks.

Within those categories are so-called “subtypes” which narrows down where the complaint should be filed, including “Parks — Trees — Complaint,” “Electrical — Street Light Out,” and “Public Safety — Abandoned Vehicle.”

In the public safety category, users are instructed to use the app only for non- emergency issues and to call 911 for emergencies.

In Rossi’s case, he used “Streets & ADA” and subtype “Sidewalk Inquiry.”

In 2023, there were 7,913 requests for service, according to the city.

Of those, 5,277 were submitted through the app.

The leading issues folks wanted addressed? Debris pickup, abandoned vehicles, potholes, dead animals and vandalism/graffiti.

But for people who can’t move easily through the world when things like leaves or branches block the sidewalk, no call is more important than the one they make.

And at the moment they make it.

Rossi for one, is grateful he’s got a way to alert the city.

“I’m impressed,” he said. “I just came back and it’s gone.”

This column has been updated to reflect the launch date of the app.

You can reach Staff Columnist Kerry Benefield at 707-526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com. On Instagram @kerry.benefield.