Culture
Eighth Annual Walk, Talk, and Roll highlights accessibility issues in Athens
< < Back toATHENS, Ohio – The Athens City Commission on Disabilities is hosting its 8th Annual Walk, Talk, and Roll on Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 pm at the Athens County Courthouse (1 South Court Street). The event focuses on accessibility issues in Athens.
Coordinated by Ally Hughes and Rob Delach who serve on the Commission’s Accessibility and Advocacy Committee, the 2026 Walk, Talk, & Roll event offers a chance for participants to walk or roll around to various “stations” located within a couple of blocks from the courthouse. Information stations are interactive and cover a variety of themes, from sidewalk policy to public transportation and parking, and improvements Athens City has made toward better access for all.
The Walk, Talk & Roll also includes the Court Street Challenge with wheelchairs available for anyone wanting to try navigating the Court Street bricks within the traffic signal’s allotted timeframe. Refreshments and pizza provided. Participants who attend all stations will be entered into a raffle for a gift certificate to Bagel Street Deli.
Hosting the conversations around accessibility include members of the Commission and its committees: Davey McNelly, Executive Director, Southeastern Ohio Center for Independent Living (SOCIL); Ben Ziff and Joel Nadler, HAPCAP Athens-Hocking Mobility Management; Stephanie Hunter, member, Pedestrian Accessibility and Bicycle Task Force; and Gillian Garland, Assistant Director of Engineering and Public Works, City of Athens.
Disability Commission Chair, Annah Korpi, encourages conversations to be two-way.
“The Commission would like to hear your stories and experiences around accessibility in the city,” Korpi said. “Whether a community member with lived experience or a business owner or college student, we want everyone’s ideas about what projects you feel should be undertaken to make our community more accessible and welcoming to all.”
ASL interpreters will be available during the event.
The Athens City Commission on Disabilities is a committee of city government whose commitment is to provide a means for the concerns of people with disabilities to be heard; to advocate for public policy change; to provide expertise to the community on disabilities; and tell the community about the strengths and limitations of people with disabilities, as well as how the community can help them improve their quality of life, thereby ensuring equality of opportunity and full participation in community life for everyone.
For more information about the upcoming Walk, Talk, & Roll, or to become involved in making the community more accessible, contact disabilitiescommission@ci.athens.oh.us.