News and Events

On April 6, the City Council of the City of Port Townsend and the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners officially designated April 2009 as Disability Awareness Month.

DASH’s 7th Annual "Assume-a-Disability Event" took place Wednesday April 22.

As a part of “Disability Awareness Month” activities, DASH sponsored its 7th Annual Assume-a-Disability Event, Wednesday, April 22. The eight participants in this year’s Event are affiliated with Jefferson County, the State Department of Transportation, the Jefferson County Port Authority and the Port Townsend Non-Motorized Transportation Board. Each participant had his or her mobility limited in some fashion and spent the day completing a list of real-life tasks, including visiting various sites in Port Townsend or Port Hadlock, evaluating the accessibility of several businesses and experiencing the difficulties of moving as a pedestrian with a disability along Sims Way and Rhody Drive and riding the bus. Participants from past events have pointed out that the physical environment often presents far more significant barriers to accessibility than a person’s physical limitations.

“We are pleased to be working with representatives from the County and the State Department of Transportation this year,” said Lynn Gressley, president of Disability Awareness Starts Here! (DASH). “One of the goals of this year’s Event was to help the participants understand that a livable community must have accessible pedestrian walkways and safe crossings of busy roads. We also hope to increase the community’s awareness of the importance of including people with disabilities in our everyday lives.”

Ian Macek, Washington Department of Transportation
and Chauncey Tudhope-Locklear, Port Townsend
Non Motorized Transportation Advisory Board

Ian and Chauncey are relieved of their blindfolds

Philip Morley, County Administrator, finds it difficult
without a  sidewalk.

Following the day’s activities participants spoke at a debriefing from 1:30 to 2:30 at the Jefferson Health Care Auditorium.

Do Sandwich Boards Impede Mobility?

DASH strives to make pedestrian walkways in Jefferson County accessible for everyone. The City of Port Townsend is working on new policies to re-regulate informational sandwich boards in commercial areas. Photograph shows Lynn Gressley, President of DASH struggling with a narrow sidewalk with an intruding sandwich board in the 1100 block of Water Street in Downtown Port Townsend.

For more information contact Lynn Gressley, DASH President, at 379-0274 or contact@dashproject.org