Ten years after a landmark settlement committed Los Angeles to spending $1.37 billion over 30 years to make its sidewalks and curb ramps accessible, disability and mobility advocates will gather at City Hall on Tuesday, Aug. 25, at 9 a.m. to ask a simple question: Is Los Angeles actually moving forward?
Their answer will take the form of The Willits SLIDE, a civic performance in which participants move forward and backward together, physically representing a decade of progress and setbacks since the Willits v. City of Los Angeles settlement.
The city has spent more than $333 million during the settlement’s first 10 years, yet broken pavement, missing curb ramps and inaccessible paths continue to create barriers for Angelenos who use wheelchairs, white canes, walkers and other mobility devices.
Advocates are also highlighting a costly contradiction: while approximately over $30 million annually is allocated toward Willits improvements, the city has spent roughly $40 million more annually settling sidewalk-related injury claims.
“The Willits settlement was a landmark victory for disability rights, but spending the money isn’t the same as delivering accessible streets,” said Alex Ramirez with LA Walks.
“Ten years later, we’re asking what it will take to stop moving backward and fix our sidewalks for good,” said Reanne Estrada, artist and creative director of Public Matters, which developed the civic performance.
The performance is the latest action from the Boo-Boo Bandage Brigade, a downtown LA coalition using art, humor and civic action to advocate for lasting solutions to broken street infrastructure.
“Disability advocates have challenged us to make downtown a blueprint for accessibility across Los Angeles,” said Hilary Norton of FastLink DTLA, who leads the coalition-building effort. “That means working together to build a system that works for everyone.”
Alongside stronger implementation of the Willits settlement, advocates are calling on the city to fast-track its Capital Infrastructure Program to better coordinate how LA plans, funds, repairs and maintains sidewalks and other public infrastructure.