My wife, Marlaina, who is blind, and I, a quadriplegic, read the letter from Tom Fletcher Jr. of Burien on the problems of access to businesses on South 152nd Street. Believe me, he just hit the top of the list.

Take a look at the south side of 152nd from about Second through Fourth Avenues. This is an older strip mall. We tried to check out the Daily Perk one morning only to discover that there is no parking available for my ramped van and lots of steps but no curb cut to the sidewalk for my wheelchair. I have friends that can pop a wheelie and jump a 6-inch curb, but my old shoulders just aren’t up to that.

Marlaina tried to check it out with the city of Burien and was brushed off. It’s the responsibility of the building owners.

If you check with the owners, what do you find? Yup, you guessed it -- it’s a city problem. In the meantime, we can’t spend our money at the Daily Perk, let alone at Paul’s Burger Joint.

We make every effort to spend our money in Burien. Places like Fred Meyer, Albertson’s, QFC, Safeway, Trader Joe’s, Staples, Horizon Pet, Dino’s, the Keg, Angelo’s and on and on, make every effort to make sure we who roll around on wheels or see with a guide dog or white cane have every opportunity to spend our money like everyone else.

What the *&%@ happened on 152nd? I sincerely hope this is an aberration because if it is not, the proposed new City Center will be awash with problems, many of which will be accessibility issues.

Oh, by the way Burien, while you are planning all of this, don’t depend on your architects to keep you out of trouble because they claim you are “ADA compliant.” Reading the law versus living it are two very different issues. Check out the Seattle library if you want further proof. Talk to people with all kinds of disabilities to get the real story. Integrate that knowledge with the law and you will have a winner.

We would be happy to help!

Gary and Marlaina Lieberg

Burien