Amy Goh and her husband Arthur live on the 3000 block of Kenwood Avenue, where their home is shaded by a truly marvelous canopy of trees. Their sidewalks, however, require light climbing gear to traverse. The picture above shows the upheaval directly in front of Amy's home, which is mild compared to others on their block.
Our neighborhood is home to many, many mothers who push children, laundry and groceries in carefully loaded strollers. On Kenwood Avenue, as well as many other local streets, strolling on the sidewalks has become impossible. Our neighborhood is also home to many people who use wheelchairs and scooters to get around. Shopping and simple errands are challenging for this group under any circumstances. But in our neighborhood they face the added obstacles of unmaintained sidewalks and nonexistant curb cutouts at intersections.
Enter Amy and Arthur. By day Amy is earning her PhD in Marine Biology at the University of Southern California, and Arthur works for an engineering firm downtown. This summer they will moonlight as sidewalk activists. Our city has received substantial stimulus funds from the federal government that are designated for "shovel-ready projects." The goal is to increase employment while also making improvements to our infrastructure. Amy and Arthur want to see some of this funding used to create safe passages through our community, and they are organizing a campaign to make their case to our city council.
Please pray for Amy and Arthur as they lead this endeavor. And you can watch the effort unfold on their blog at http://takeawalkproject.blogspot.com.
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