Rockridge: Health and Accessibility

by Jackie, Maria, and Laura

In Rockridge, there weren't a lot of fast food restaurants. There were some restaurants that sold healthy foods. When we walked around we saw people eating at the restaurants, and they would eat salads and other healthy things. We asked people if they thought Rockridge was healthier than other places like Walnut Creek and other cities, and they think it is healthier. We also asked why they think Rockridge is healthier, and they said that it was because of all the healthy restaurants there are, and how a lot of people walk around the shopping centers and ride their bikes.

In Rockridge, it looked obvious that people tend to exercise more than in East Oakland. We saw a lot people on their bikes. On every block, there was at least one bike outside. We also noticed that there were a lot of sport stores around. In one block there were two bike shops. Here in East Oakland, you don't see biking as an everyday form of transportation. In Rockridge biking was part of their lifestyle. I also saw a lot of people walking their dogs. In East Oakland, not a lot of people go out just to walk their dogs. Rockridge seems way healthier than East Oakland.

The accessibility for the physically disabled in Rockridge is …okay. There really aren’t any difficult pathways or anything. There were signs as to where they could go to get inside a building (which must be more than a little annoying). The sidewalks are kind of narrow, so if you’re in a wheelchair and there are a lot of people walking around outside…don’t expect to have an enjoyable time trying to get around everyone. Also, the small bumps in the sidewalks (from tree roots) would look kind of scary if you’re on wheels, or in crutches, but really natural things like that can’t be helped.