To the Seattle City Council:

We, the undersigned residents, community members, event organizers, and advocates, ask the Seattle City Council to strengthen the City’s commitment to accessibility by ensuring that public events, pedestrian routes, and community gathering spaces are designed and maintained with people of all mobility levels in mind.

Seattle is a city that values community, connection, and public participation. Yet for many residents with mobility disabilities or who use wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and other accessibility aids, participating in community life can still involve significant barriers.

Uneven and deteriorating sidewalks, difficult street crossings, inaccessible pathways, crowded event layouts, steep terrain, and unsuitable outdoor surfaces can make attending a community event substantially more difficult—or impossible. These barriers do not necessarily exist at the event itself; they can begin several blocks away on the route someone must take to get there.

As someone who has participated in and organized community events, including neighborhood walking events, I have seen firsthand how much the physical environment can determine who is realistically able to participate. An event may technically be open to everyone, but if the route to the event, the entrance, the gathering space, or the surrounding sidewalks cannot be safely navigated by someone with a mobility limitation, that invitation is not truly inclusive.

Seattle already recognizes the importance of accessibility. The City’s special-event guidance calls for equitable access and identifies accessible routes, sidewalks, curb cuts, parking, restrooms, and other accommodations as important components of event planning. Seattle also maintains an ADA Transition Plan and a Pedestrian Access Advisory Committee focused on accessibility within the public right-of-way.

The issue is making sure these principles consistently translate into practice.

We ask the Seattle City Council to:

Strengthen accessibility requirements for permitted public events so accessibility is evaluated during the planning and permitting process—not addressed only after barriers are identified.
Require event organizers to evaluate the complete accessible route, including sidewalks, curb ramps, crossings, entrances, pathways, event surfaces, seating, restrooms, and other essential areas—not simply the event's immediate footprint.
Prioritize sidewalk, curb-ramp, and pedestrian-crossing improvements in areas frequently used for community events and public gatherings, particularly where existing conditions create significant mobility barriers.
Expand meaningful consultation with people who have disabilities when developing event-accessibility standards and prioritizing infrastructure improvements. People who navigate these barriers every day should have a central role in determining what accessible design looks like in practice.
Create clearer accountability and reporting for accessibility requirements associated with City-permitted events, including a straightforward process for reporting accessibility barriers and tracking their resolution.
Ensure accessibility is considered alongside other transportation and infrastructure priorities. Investments in roads, bike infrastructure, transit, and pedestrian improvements should be evaluated as part of a connected system that allows people of all abilities to move through and participate in their communities.
Accessibility should not be an afterthought, a special accommodation available only when someone asks for it, or something that is considered only once an event has already been planned. It should be part of the foundation of how Seattle designs its public spaces and plans its community events.

A truly welcoming city is one where residents can participate in their communities with independence, dignity, and as few unnecessary barriers as possible.

We ask the Seattle City Council to take meaningful action to ensure that accessibility is built into Seattle’s public events and public infrastructure from the beginning—not retrofitted after people have already been excluded.

We believe Seattle can do better, and we ask the City Council to make accessibility a core consideration in every neighborhood, every public gathering, and every community event.