The City of Cambridge will launch an awareness campaign in early 2019 to promote universal accessibility for persons with disabilities.

Negotiating a safe path through Cambridge sometimes poses a daunting challenge to people with disabilities. Too often, the only choice is to move into the street, posing dangers both to themselves and to passing drivers.

To kick off its Accessibility Awareness Campaign, city employees have designed a simple, easy-to-use tool to help business owners establish safe travel paths outside their stores. Vocational Carpentry students from the Dorchester County Career and Technology Center are creating "Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Clearance Sticks" that will be distributed to all downtown business owners in a first phase, where most of the pedestrian traffic occurs.

The ADA requires a clear 4-foot path to be maintained at all times, for people to navigate sidewalks safely. The 4-foot-long “ADA Clearance Stick” is a first step towards the goal of making Cambridge one of the most accessible and walkable cities on the Eastern Shore.

The city's ADA Advisory Committee is spearheading the Accessibility Awareness Campaign to encourage business owners, citizens, and city government to work hand-in-hand to provide a model community, welcoming to all.