DENVER— Denver native and former Olympian Amy Van Dyken says her rights are being taken away. She's fighting to get the elevators running at the 18th Union Gateway Bridge.
Van Dyken lives in Glass House, which is right next to the bridge. She says the bridge is the only way she can get to Union Station easily, since she uses a wheelchair. However, now that the elevators aren't working at night, after an evening out with friends, she either has to call a cab or go under the 20th Street Bridge, which she feels isn't safe.
“If I have to go to 20th Street, it can be 30 to 45 minutes, really. And if it's winter and it's cold and miserable, I can't wear gloves with my wheelchair, and my hands are freezing,” said Van Dyken.
Van Dyken reached out to 68West, the company that led the bridge design.
"The schedule to have the elevators shut down at night was instituted about a year ago for safety and hygiene purposes and in response to significant concerns raised by and on behalf of the residents of the adjacent buildings and general population of Riverfront Park," 68West said in an email to Van Dyken. "This decision was made after discussions at the District Board meeting with our security staff, engineering, and management consultants... The purpose of the overnight closures was to stop obscene behavior and crime from happening in the elevators during the overnight hours."
Been a week since I was stuck bc elevators R being shut down ILLEGALLY!. Here is the AWFUL response I received. (Under Title II of the ADA,the City&County of Denver is required 2ensure facilities,services & programs R accessible 2 people with disabilities&in compliance w the ADA) pic.twitter.com/idCjyYaAWx
— Amy Van Dyken-Rouen (@amyvandyken) August 19, 2022
Van Dyken believes 68West's reasoning puts the burden on her shoulders and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“I’m hoping that people actually understand that ADA is a law for disabled people, so that we can be treated like human beings like everybody else,” she said.
Denver7 also talked to a woman who was pushing her baby in a stroller. She says she's noticed the elevators not working from time to time, and says it's an inconvenience for her, too.
Van Dyken says she just wants the issue addressed so she and other people like herself don't feel like they're being singled out.
The City and County of Denver says the Central Platte Valley Metropolitan District operates and maintains the bridge and its elevators. They went on to say they'll be looking into this further.