Meg Wallace

Waco

Meg Wallace comes from a large family that includes several people with various disabilities. Wallace has spent her life learning alongside loved ones about navigating life with a disability. After raising her two daughters and working as a teacher and a publishing-industry freelancer, Wallace decided return to her original career path as a community organizer. She graduated with a master’s in social work in 2018 and launched a nonprofit called the Amberley Collaborative, which strengthens community support with and for people experiencing disability and other potentially isolating challenges.

Project Title

Mobilize Waco Testing New Pedestrian Crossings under I-35

Project Description

By early April 2023, two teams of testers from a new accessibility initiative called Mobilize Waco will try out newly built pedestrian crossings under the reconstructed section of I-35 running through the city. Two members of Mobilize Waco who have been involved in the local Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Bike and Pedestrian Working Group responded to an invitation to attend transit planning meetings, where they learned that the I-35 reconstruction and related pedestrian crossings would be completed this spring. Wallace asked the TxDOT representative if her group could test the crossings to ensure that audible crossing signals and curb ramps work properly from a user’s perspective, and he agreed. The group formed two teams: the Draggins and the Village People, and made their plan to test the crossings and prepare their report for TxDOT. The majority of team members are self-advocates. The project is turning out to be a great way for disabled Wacoans to meet one another and collaborate to improve accessibility in their community.