Wednesday, October 12, 2005
TOM KOENNINGER editor emeritus of The Columbian

RIDGEFIELD What if you build it and they can't come because they are disabled?

That's the dilemma with a pedestrian bridge spanning the mainline railroad tracks here on a trail leading to the replica Cathlapotle Plankhouse. Some 14 of these plankhouses were in place when Lewis and Clark visited the area 200 years ago next month.

The full-scale replica has been a drawing card since it was opened March 29.

But the footbridge built in the 1970s over the BNSF Railway tracks was never designed to standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The steeply pitched humpback structure is a challenge to people with full use of their legs. To someone in a wheelchair, or on crutches, it's nearly impossible to cross.

Originally, the bridge linked users to the oaks-to-wetlands trail on the Carty Unit of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or USFWS. The Chinookan plankhouse is now the first stop.

As many as 1,300 people per month have visited the plankhouse. Many will see it this weekend during Birdfest activities here. That number will increase during the Lewis and Clark bicentennial, and beyond.

It was obvious the bridge would be an impediment when the plankhouse opened. Funds were sought to replace it, but none surfaced. The cost of a replacement span 160 feet long with viewing platform and approaches is estimated at $1,472,859.

"The bridge is not accessible for people with disabilities at the moment, and my concern is for those among the thousands of visitors who could not cross it," said Dana Perez. Perez is regional chief of the division of diversity and civil rights for USFWS.

Accelerating the need for replacement was an e-mail note to Tim Bodeen, project leader of the 5,150-acre refuge. The note, from a Vancouver man whose identity was not available, served notice of intent to file an ADA complaint about the bridge. That intensified the scramble to locate funding for a new bridge.

Meanwhile, Perez, who is 70 percent disabled, made recommendations to provide access to the plankhouse.

One is to transport disabled visitors, by prior arrangement, across the railroad tracks in a refuge pilot car. A sign at the trail parking lot provides information for assistance to disabled people.

Another possibility is to purchase a "motorized mule" perhaps a mini-tractor to haul a cart containing a wheelchair over the bridge. But there is doubt that kind of transport is feasible.

Meanwhile, a new, "super-duper" non-skid surface is being applied to the bridge. "We just need a little more sunshine to finish the job," Bodeen said.

The biggest challenge: funding

The existing bridge is structurally sound, according to a recent engineering report, Perez indicated.

The obvious, but not easy, solution is a new bridge. "The service has every intension of building a fully accessible bridge," Perez said. But funding is difficult in the aftermath of disastrous hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the budget-busting war in Iraq.

Inquiries to congressional sources have brought sympathy and understanding, but no immediate promise of federal dollars. That kind of money might not be available until fiscal year 2007, and Bodeen is prevented by USFWS from soliciting money directly from the public.

That's why Jim Maul (887-3653), president of the nonprofit Friends of the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge, is looking for an angel with deep pockets.

The organization he heads can receive funds from the public on behalf of the refuge.

The plankhouse and Capt.William Clark Park at Washougal are the kinds of tourist attractions Lt. Gov. Brad Owen was talking about last week as he led a legislative visit of tourist hotspots.

"People are going to come," he said. "And if they going to come, we need to find the right way to accommodate them."

Helping the disabled view our scenic and cultural marvels is the right thing to do, and that means bridging their path to the plankhouse.

Tom Koenninger is a board member of the Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and editor emeritus of The Columbian. His column of personal opinion appears on the Other Opinions page each Wednesday. Reach him at tom.koenninger@columbian.com.