LAKELAND, Fla. — Lakeland City Commissioners stepped into the shoes of those with mobility issues. 

Members of the Lakeland City Commission all pushed themselves in wheelchairs to their chamber meeting Monday.

That mobility challenge was designed to bring awareness to Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

In order to experience what it’s like to be disabled and travel around, commissioners pushed themselves form the parking garage across the street to City Hall. There was a small hill they had to go up as well, the commissioners struggled to climb it.

Mayor Bill Mutz said it was an eye opener.

"It gives you a lot of empathy in terms of what people have to put up with and do just to move around town, what we take for granted every day," Mutz said.

It took a little while, but the commissioners finally made it into City Hall, where an elevator ride to the chambers ended the challenge.

City leaders say there are 1,300 points at high volume intersections that need to be reconstructed so that they are wheelchair accessible. Those sidewalks will look much like the one at City Hall that was just completed last week.

Eddie Hall, the vice president of Florida Sands, says despite the need for repairs, Lakeland has already come a long way.

"They've made a lot of changes for the disabled, but there's still challenges out there for those in a wheelchair or a walker that want to traverse the city in different areas," Hall said.

The city spent $300,000 on a 10-year study that identified all the areas that need to be revised.