Experiencing Newberg by Wheelchair Puts Civic Access in Focus

NEWBERG, Ore. — On a sunny winter morning in late December, Newberg Mayor Bill Rosacker practiced maneuvering a motorized wheelchair in the parking lot of a north-side Newberg apartment complex.

“It’s very responsive,” he said, spinning the chair in small circles. “A feat of engineering.”

The brief practice preceded a more than three-hour journey by wheelchair across town with wheelchair user Jesse Phares-Cunningham, her son, and Newberg City Councilor Robyn Wheatley. Rosacker does not require a wheelchair for his own mobility. He accepted an invitation from Phares-Cunningham, a Newberg resident, to experience the city’s pedestrian infrastructure from the perspective of someone who depends on it for daily travel.

The invitation followed an Oct. 20, 2025, Newberg City Council discussion about proposed changes to council rules governing public comment. Written public comments are added to the council’s agenda packet.

According to the city’s proposed 2025 Board, Committee, and Commission Guidelines, “Written comments will not be read into the record unless specifically requested by the individual submitting the comment; those read into the record will be read through digital means.”

That night, the council unanimously agreed to remove the ability for individuals to request that their written comments be read aloud during meetings.

“As you know, I don’t like the idea of making somebody read somebody else’s comments,” Rosacker said during the discussion. “I believe that if someone wants to give public comment and wants it read out loud, they should do that themselves…I would like to have them take the action of actually coming to the meeting, or being passionate enough to speak for themselves.”

Rosacker said his concern was that, in a politically charged environment, councilors could be asked to read statements they do not agree with strictly as a matter of protocol. The motion passed unanimously.

For Phares-Cunningham, who has been physically disabled since surviving a car crash at age 13, the rule change could silence people with disabilities and others who face barriers to attending meetings in person or feeling comfortable enough to appear on Zoom.

“It’s not just people who can’t make the meetings in person — even though that’s why we’re out here today, and I think this is the best way to demonstrate it,” she said. “This also includes people with anxiety, autism, or other behavioral health concerns who, on a given day, cannot make it to City Council or appear on camera to present public comments.”

Her advocacy is part of what she calls the WATCH ME Movement, which focuses on what she describes as “survival-focused civic care,” including wages, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, transit, housing, mental health, and the environment. The wheelchair journey — a nearly 2½-mile route from Newberg’s northeast side to the public safety building where City Council meets — was intended as the first step in a broader effort to make local government more accessible.

The group set off with Rosacker leading, while Phares-Cunningham traveled at a more deliberate pace, pointing out familiar bumps and hazards along the sidewalks.

The route began along a stretch she traverses weekly on the way to her chiropractor. Within minutes, Rosacker experienced how even small sidewalk elevations — roughly an inch or two — could threaten to jostle riders from their seats.

“Yeah, that was a little scary,” he said, glancing back at a raised seam. “I thought I was going to get bumped out of the chair.”

The challenges extended beyond uneven pavement. Overgrown hedges narrowed walkways, some curb cuts were too steep, and several stretches lacked sidewalks altogether. Where sidewalks were absent or blocked, Phares-Cunningham said she often had no choice but to enter the street.

“That’s when I play ‘Frogger,’” she said, referencing the 1980s arcade game in which players guide a frog across busy traffic. She hugged the road’s shoulder and occasionally moved into traffic to navigate around parked vehicles.

Sidewalk inconsistencies in Newberg force her to “play Frogger” more often than she would like, she said, but she has adapted. Chronic pain makes steep grades, declines, and rough surfaces especially difficult. In some cases, the smoother roadway surface is the safer option despite the risks. At any moment, a trash can, an over-parked vehicle, or another obstruction can block her path entirely.

“I think it’s just something a lot of people don’t realize because they don’t have to,” she said. “And I get it — but if I can, I hope to help people see things a little differently for those of us who don’t have many other options.”

Walking alongside the group, Wheatley said she observed the challenges from multiple perspectives. She noted that the city and the Oregon Department of Transportation have recently completed curb-cut improvements and addressed some raised sidewalks downtown and on Newberg’s south side. The city and state are also undertaking an ADA curb-ramp program to bring intersections into compliance, with work expected to continue through 2027.

Wheatley said she hopes the improvements help, but also wanted to acknowledge their cost.

“I really wish it were better and easier,” she said as the group encountered a sidewalk without ramp access. “For the city, it’s so expensive, and we can only do so many per year.”

City code places responsibility for sidewalk maintenance on adjacent property owners, and the city’s engineering department provides a permitting process for repairs or new construction. Wheatley and Rosacker agreed that requiring property owners to repair or build sidewalks could improve conditions, though such a change would likely require broad public support.

Phares-Cunningham asserted that while residents can watch City Council meetings virtually, they cannot participate remotely. Public commenters at City Council do not participate in a back-and-forth discussion, by rule.

Dial-A-Ride services are inconsistent, she said, and inclement weather can confine her to her home, since wheelchairs are not weatherproof and snow or ice can make travel dangerous.

“It’s the things you notice when you’re rolling instead of walking,” Rosacker said after hitting a curb. “It makes you look at the sidewalk differently.”

While the journey was informative, immediate action remains limited. Beyond recently completed curb cuts and some repairs downtown and on the south side, no major sidewalk initiatives are currently planned. Rosacker said the experience will inform future conversations about mobility and civic participation.

“We’ve had a nice three-hour walk, but had it been raining or dark, this would have been a much more harrowing experience,” he said. “I frankly don’t know what can be done about it, but it needs to be considered in everything that we do.”

Phares-Cunningham said she hopes the experience will underscore a simple reality: most people will face mobility challenges at some point in their lives.

“We don’t really think of it like that,” she said. “But at some point, our bodies will fail in one way or another. Maybe you’ll be bound to a wheelchair, or require hearing assistance, or readability becomes an issue. Building these things into our systems now not only helps people in our community who have a hard time expressing their needs to our government, but also ensures we’ll be able to continue participating in the future.”

Correction Jan. 20 at 9:07 a.m. — Added clarification about the ability to submit public comment via video conferencing software and how the public comment process works at City Council. Also, the 2025 Board, Committee, and Commission guidelines were proposed, not adopted. Newsberg regrets the error.