Recently I received news from my tree-climbing daughter that a friend, whom I had watched climb on Sunday in the International Society of Arborists (ISA) international competition in St Louis, had fallen and broken his back and crushed his heel when his rope failed while foot-locking up the rope.

My daughter is an international women's champion arborist and her friend has been a volunteer trainer, live-wire cheerleader and official at international gatherings for all the years she has competed in the ISA.

After the initial shock of the news, I began to think of his forever-changed life: from a professional arborist who spent his days climbing trees and training new recruits in the intricacies of rope safety when foot-locking -- to yet another para learning the intricacies of safe street travel and the hazards of inconsistent curb cuts that are not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (standards for which are referred to as ADAAG).

All the things I have learned in 40-plus years of walking behind or beside my youngest daughter, he will have to learn from experience: expect the unexpected, do not assume the ramp is accessible, look across the street to the next ramp, know that most people do not understand "ADA accessible" or "wheelchair accessible" - at least not as specifically as is necessary for access. He must learn that, when he hears "Oh yes, we have customers in wheelchairs," it does not mean the premises are actually accessible. So we all come to rely on each other - have you actually been there? Do you know someone who has been there recently - and understands the ADA? Just getting from point A to point B becomes a daily challenge.

A successful lawsuit against the City of Chicago, launched in October 2005 by the Council for Disability Rights and settled in 2007, should go a long way toward guaranteeing predictably safe curb cuts in our fair city -- and we can only hope and pray that its influence will spread far beyond. One of the greatest hazards in daily life for folks in wheelchairs - or with other mobility problems - is the inconsistent accessibility of the public environment. Every day decisions must be made about accessible paths of travel - to lunch, to a new appointment, to a new store location, to any place you have not been recently.

Thanks to a remarkable federal judge -- who spent a very hot summer afternoon in 2006 on Chicago sidewalks with CDOT (Chicago Dept. of Transportation) crew, engineers, lawyers from both sides, people in wheelchairs, and two City Commissioners (DOT and Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities) -- access to the public environment will become a smoother, more reliably accessible roll. The CDOT now understands the subtle geometric complexity involved in assuring that each curb ramp is in compliance with the ADA standards, however unusual the geometry of the sidewalk, curb, and street may be and they have actually devised more than one standard ramp. They have also added a condition to City contracts that requires the contractors to correct ramps that are not compliant with the ADA. They have also extensively trained their own engineers and roadwork staff in the finer points of access and slope management.

For more information, go to www.disabilityrights.org and link to information about the lawsuit and contact information about the attorney. If you know of a specific site in Chicago that is difficult to navigate and seems to be out of compliance, please call 311 and report the specific location. Be sure the operator uses the correct questionnaire about the ADA ramps/curbs. Also, you can make the call anonymously - whether or not you need access - ANYONE can report a bad ramp. If you can, please also send an email to cdr@disabilityrights.org. Thanks for being part of the solution.

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