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5 On Your Side: Lyford man struggles to get wheelchair access near his home

By: Stefany Rosales

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A Lyford man is struggling to get proper wheelchair access to his home.

Timothy Means has been living on Gulf Avenue in Lyford for over two years and says he has trouble getting from his home to the street and back on his motorized wheelchair. Means says he has to go around the back, which means riding on the grass.

“I have health issues. I could fall and tip over and if I lose my cell phone, or if it gets crushed, I have no way to summon 911,” Means said.

Means’ friend says he recently got stuck on the grass and was waiting over three hours for help.

On top of that, Means says his neighbors don’t want him on their grass anymore because they don’t want to be liable if he has an accident.

So, Means asked the city to cut the curb so he can have better access to the ramp leading to his home. However, the city said Means or the landlord has to pay for it.

Mean says he can't afford it.

“I went by there. I see that it’s far away from the corner that I don’t think will be a problem, so again this is without looking at the ordinance,” said Lyord Mayor Rick Salinas.

Now, Salinas is stepping up and with the help of a donor, they're going to take care of the cost to cut out the curb.

Salinas says they still need to make sure they’re following city ordinances as to where they can make the cut.

“The last thing we need to do is talk to the property owner and get his approval of cutting the curb on his property at that particular point,” Salinas said. 

The mayor also said they will continue to work with Means to offer any resources he might need. 

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