BEAUMONT- by Haley Bull One Beaumont man is asking the city to make changes to improve safety for the disabled and elderly. The set of wheels attached to Rodney Dencklau's wheelchair are his main form of transportation and how he gets from bus stop to bus stop. "There's a lot of spots that don't have curb cuts that we need curb cuts for the disabled and the senior citizens, so you know we don't hurt ourselves or break out chairs or walkers or fall," Dencklau said. "And you know it's ridiculous we don't have them." The 37-year old said some bus stops in Beaumont, like one outside his apartment complex on French Rd. and one on 11th St., don't have wheelchair ramps, level concrete or sidewalks. Dencklau said it can make the bus ramps too steep and cause wheelchairs to become stuck in the grass. It happened to him. "It was embarrassing for me because I had to call the fire department and you know it could have been avoided if they would just put curb cuts or at least sidewalks in those areas where we could get around," he said. Tuesday, he took his message to the Beaumont City Council. "In this case this is something that we do need to review without a doubt. I think reasonable accommodation is in order," Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames said. Ames said city council is reviewing an old ordinance. "It doesn't give the bus drivers any parameters, it says they have to stop in front of the bus stop period. So in this case, if there's grass and five feet up there is concrete that would be more accessible to disabled people, then it doesn't give them the ability to pull up even five feet," Ames said. The short distance could make all the difference in the world to Denklau so that he can get home safely to his daughter and wife, also in a wheelchair. It's a small part of a larger challenge. "We people, too. I mean, c'mon, we people too," Denklau's wife, Anniessia Denklau, said. "We also have rights, we have our own way of doing stuff so you know what other way do we have exactly." The mayor said council will move quickly to review the ordinance.

• published: 22 May 2015
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