SOUTH ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MO (KTVI) – Tony Berding says he’s been hit 3 times by vehicles on Lemay Ferry.  Berding is disabled, and lives in a senior apartment complex in the 3600 block Lemay Ferry Road in South St. Louis County.  He uses a motorized wheelchair to travel to a nearby Quick Trip and Kmart.

Berding was struck last Thursday while traveling on a narrow shoulder along northbound Lemay Ferry.

“I don’t want to go to QT anymore,” said Berding.

He says the narrow shoulder is the only way he can get to a store on his own.  The sidewalks are not continuous.  One stretch of the sidewalk ends at a telephone poll.  Other stretches feed into curbs impassible by a motorized wheelchair.

“We want a sidewalk before somebody really gets killed,” said Berding.

Berding has visible scars on his arms and emotional scars from the accident.  His motorized wheelchair is out of commission from the force of the crash.

“It’s kind of like being in jail. You cannot get anywhere if you don’t have the proper equipment,” said Linda Hinkle, fellow resident and friend of Berding.

She and other residents of the Ahepha 53 apartments believe someone will be seriously injured or even killed unless sidewalks are extended in the area.  She showed us an email exchange with St. Louis County and MoDOT officials indicating they do not have the property rights to extend the sidewalks.

Hinkle and Bearding feel acquiring those rights should be a priority.

“We’re just asking for simple, safe, access including a sidewalk,” said Hinkle.

A St. Louis County spokesman confirms the county does not currently have sufficient property rights to extend the sidewalks.