Brick Industry Letter to Globe Magazine on Bricks

"Are you going to believe me or your own eyes?" Chico Marx famously said to some customer who was just catching on. Thus we have Dick Jennison, the President and CEO of the Brick Industry Association, writing in that bricks

meet or exceed requirements as stipulated in the Americans for Disabilities Act when they are properly installed and maintained.

First, the implementing regulations for the ADA, known as ADAAG, weren't written with brick in mind. In order to ensure adequate smoothness, ADAAG prohibits any change of level greater than 1/4". If we are talking about 3 foot long blocks of concrete, and there is an occasional 1/4" change, the sidewalk can still be OK.

But because bricks are only 5 inches wide, a constant 1/8" or 3/16" bump is plenty to vibrate wheelchair users out of our minds, and put cane users on their face. So, yes, brick paths of travel can "meet or exceed requirements" but they still suck. Just because something may not violate the law doesn't mean that it is a good idea!

Second, bricks are rarely "properly installed and maintained," because it is difficult to install them correctly (especially with all the casings, covers, posts, etc. on a typical city sidewalk) and they are expensive to maintain -- I'm sure you have seen those hideous asphalt patches quickly and cheaply thrown down over a bunch of missing bricks.

If the only brick surfaces in the city smooth enough to roll over are the Christian Science Plaza and (from what I hear) Post Office Square, and all the other brick sidewalks are dangerous nightmares, isn't it time we paid attention to actual reality? Isn't learning from experience one of the things that groups of people are supposed to be able to do together?

Third, the bricks installed on Huntington Avenue, known as "Original City Hall Pavers", are uneven and broken up on purpose, for that pseudo-old-time look. No matter how these bricks were to be installed, they would be dangerous..

Jennison cites a recent University of Pittsburgh "study" (substantially funded by the brick and concrete industries), which "demonstrated" that

clay paving products generate no extra effort for wheelchair users and produce a lower vibration level than a newly poured concrete surface.

What can we say to this except WRONG! Every, and I mean every single wheelchair user I have spoken to despises all-brick sidewalks. Visually impaired people can't stand them, and once elderly and a lot of other people think about it, they realize they don't like them either. For firsthand experience, please see here and here. There is plenty more of this testimony to be posted.

Finally, Jennison just lays out his position in all it's insulting glory:

Clay pavers have been, and will continue to be, an essential paving material that meets the needs of all citizens of Boston.

With all due respect, Mr. Jennison, they do not "meet the needs of all citizens" of any city, and should only be used as an accent or edging along the street where people do not travel. People with disabilities, people who are elderly, are citizens, too, and are uniting to declare that brick sidewalks are dangerous. Shouldn't that end the matter? When will city government listen?