by eila in Accessibility, Arts and Culture, Civil and Human Rights, Development and Zoning, Government Reform, Neighborhoods and Squares, Public Health & Safety, Uncategorized
Posted on February 23, 2010 at 2:58 pm
Last Modified on February 25, 2010 at 11:45 am
loading…
1. Union Square Main Streets (USMS) will be holding the Wicked Smaht Trivia contest tomorrow night at the Somerville City Club. That City Club side ramp was constructed incorrectly and is truly an Accident Trap. It’s got a cross-slope of 8.1%, when the standard is 2%. It’s got a two-inch lip at the beginning, so the user can’t even get on and off the thing- not too brightly constructed. In addition, whoever designed the Van-Accessible parking spaces to be in a section where the route to the door doesn’t even coincide with the ramp entrance was not even slightly thinking.
[Above 3 photos, left to right: 1. Ramp cross slope 8.1% (2% is maximum standard). 2. Ramp entrance threshold 2 inches high (1/2 inch beveled is maximum standard) 3. path from HP parking spots leads to City Club stairs entrance (ramp user has to continue down to the street and travel along the perimeter of the site to get to a side lot, where the ramp starts).]
It’s realistic to imagine that USMS folks heard that a ramp existed there, from the City Club, or from colleagues with no credible skills regarding usability and accessibility- and assumed that this is an accessible venue to hold their event. However, USMS receives federal Community Development Block Grant funding, and these still-unfamiliar disAbility rights and access issues call for a respectful learner’s response.
Lacking the necessary investment of a little time and care, this event stands to violate important Federal civil rights standards- see 29 U.S.C. § 794 or see the funder’s regulations at 24 CFR 6.
More importantly, it will definitely leave out really smaht and funny people who could also have a chance at winning the ever-desirable Fluffprizes.
2. The City of Somerville, with it’s clear mandates and civil rights obligations from Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, continues to be really , truly, obviously unskilled at inclusive community-building.
In Mayor Joseph Curtatone’s case, the fellow is a lawyer, has been at the game since his Alderman days, and very definitely has had Access and Inclusion issues placed on his desk with precision and detail, for a good number of years.
I guess Joe’s Just More Comfortable Saying No.
Last week, Joe rolled out a new Library-administered program, called Somerville Reads. It will be the City’s first “one city, one book” campaign. The chosen book is: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. The program is supported by a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Service and Technology Act administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
This just sounds terrific. But so far, one-third (3 out of 9) of these planned events will utterly exclude thousands of city residents who can’t climb stairs and/or aren’t able-bodied enough to deal with the ongoing street and facility safety and access issues that our elected Deciders are willfully ignoring.
The three inaccessible events are: the kick-off concert at the Armory, the book/movie discussion at the West Branch Library, and the final concert at the Nave to benefit The New England Center for HomelessVeterans.
Library Director Milnor (who failed to respond to my correspondence regarding the completely exclusionary West Library event) says, in the City PR: “TimO’Brien’s book presents ideas and issues that bridge generational gaps. Somerville Reads encourages all residents –veterans, immigrants, teens, parents, teachers – to come together to learn and share.”
It’s not true. All residents are not being encouraged. Veterans with ambulatory and mobility issues, immigrants with ambulatory and mobility issues, teens with… parents with… teachers with…yeah, you got it… THEY will NOT be crossing those community bridges.
Here’s the things THEY carry: Being treated as trivial. Being treated as burdensome. Being sidelined by thoughtlessness. Being kicked back when offering every practical idea. Being served by people with no experience, no mercy, no kindness, and alot of dumb. A hard-won learning regarding the law, citations, statutes, regulations, ordinances and human rights obligations. A wicked sense of humor. A twinkle in the eye. Being in the know with nowhere to go.
[Above photo: West Somerville Public Library, circa 2010. A municipal and neighborhood refuge only for the able-bodied, with 11 steps in front.]
loading…
eila, It is baffling to me the City of Somerville cannot find it in themselves to invite you in & use the info you have provided, which will open up opportunities for so many more residents & visitors. The cross slope on that Access ramp will make some of the most stable legged Individuals wobble like a weeble as though they just left the local pub after a handful of hot tottis. A 400% increase in maximum cross slope allowed is clearly a safety concern for Individuals that have little to zero, upper body strength to spare. And, to not provide everyone, full barrier free, All Inclusive Access to the priceless public accommodation of a public library, is completely shameful!
loading...
I don’t get it. You are doing their work for them and they are disrespecting you. Libraries are critical to people. It is so simple. Or apparently it isn’t.
loading...
The West Branch Library and Nave are indeed inaccessible, but the Armory has a ramp.
loading...
Just because there’s a ramp doesn’t mean access has been provided. In the case of the Armory, the ramp is excessively steep. The slope should not exceed 8.3%; the Armory’s ramp sports a 12.8% at the top of the run. This ramp does not have a level landing at the door; at a minimum, ramps should have 5′ level landings at top and bottom. The automatic door button is illogically presented before the top of the run, and no level landing there, either. In addition, the cross slope of the new sidewalk panel directly in front of the facility is 3.8%; this issue also belongs to the owners. (Maximum cross slope = 2%)
That’s known as, “barriers every step of the way.”
loading...
Is anyone considering a protest of any sort this evening? Is anything planned? I don’t mean Eila; she has already done an unfathomable volume of (uncompensated) work. People who can tolerate being cold and wet for a limited time could distribute quickly designed and printed handbills to attendees- with info about how and with whom to register their concern/outrage.
I would be willing (and am able)to do this. One of us could create a flier in Word, and others could access it through the blogsite and print a (small) batch from work/home/Somerville Public Library. For the sake of conservation, handbills can be smaller than 8.5 x11- it you duplicate an approx. 4×5″ image on a single page, you need only cut the paper in half to have 2.
Any takers? We could post this on Twitter, etc., to try and recruit others…
loading...
I’m sorry intrepid, I wish I could but live to far away…
loading...
eila, thanks for pointing out these barriers to accessibility!
Intrepid, I’d join your protest if I didn’t have a previous engagement tonight. I think it’s an excellent idea!
loading...
Way to go, intrepid! Protests by disAbility rights activists were the only thing that made the Department of Health and Human Services finally write the regulations making the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 enforceable- check out the History of the Independent Living Movement! @: http://www.thewholeperson.org/HistoryofIL.htm
Regarding tonight, I assume the USMS folks are newly learning that ramps are NOT a trustworthy sign that access has been designed adequately and integrated throughout the site. So, I’m not likely to disturb their party tonight, and I hope they have a wicked fabulous time. USMS: Please invest in consultancy- to Learn is to Earn! But, please, don’t exploit anyone… people with cultural competence deserve payment for their work, just like everyone.
As for the City Club, they probably require some training via architectural access complaints to the excellent MA Architectural Access Board- especially if they are recalcitrant facility owners.
Regarding the programs that are planned by the actors at City Hall, though, the issues are quite puzzling. The buck stops with the Mayor, who has knowingly denied the civil rights of thousands of residents every day of his career…
Why would this fellow feel so immune to the consequences of his unlawful and discriminatory practices?
loading...
Good work on the reporting of the problem.
loading...
Good work on the reporting of the problem. Could this be an issue for the one of the local tv news stations?
loading...
elia, thanks for covering and documenting this important issue. Have you considered putting together a guide to accessible event organizing in Somerville? Or perhaps grading the accessibility of the most commonly used venues?
It seems like you may already have a lot of the data, and I’m sure people and organizations in Somerville would appreciate a having a way to quickly determine which venues are accessible. Having a public document like that could also serve as a platform for activism – giving laypeople on this issue a more concrete sense of the problem.
loading...
Elia, while I applaud your efforts for highlighting these issues of wasted tax $$$$, poor workmanship and oversight in the contruction of what should be ADA compliant facilities… I have to ask…. what can be done about it now? We’re broke.
BTW – this lack of oversight by city government – and any government institution – is exactly why none of us want the government controlling our healthcare. They can’t build a simple sidewalk correctly, so can you imagine the death & destruction they’ll wreak in trying to yank a some poor slob’s kidney? I’m all set with that idea.
loading...
RE the remarks by Xumi- or should I say our resident Provocateur Extraordinaire,
It is against my better judgment to respond to intentionally incendiary words such as his, so however tempting it is to engage him in debate I will resist; for it is not honest debate he seeks (the kind grounded in the rules of rational discourse). Rather,I will take my turn to try and disabuse those who would be influenced by him of the belief that he has a legitimate viewpoint.
You see, there is little about which to take issue in Elia’s latest journalistic piece. It is not about spending money. It is about the wholly unjustifiable practice, by the city administration, of sponsoring and promoting public events in venues that are NOT ACCESSIBLE to everyone.
How can anyone argue that the Mayor should not know better? And what more solid evidence can there be of his malfeasance than the testimony of his would-be teacher that he has been repeatedly informed, advised, reminded- even beseeched- about the importance, the imperative of adopting, integrating and implementing policies and procedures that maximize opportunities for all to benefit from the reach and the resources of local government? Legally, constitutionally, ethically and morally, the Mayor- and his Administration- are remiss in their obligations to people with disabilities, to all of us, really.
The suggestion by Sarah Shugars to create a guide to accessible event organizing is an excellent one. That is precisely the kind of project typically undertaken by a paid specialist within a city or town government. Somerville has such a person, I believe. She advises the City on matters of ADA compliance, I think (the City’s exposure to lawsuits, fines, and other sanctions for being non-compliant is HUGE- talk about budget-busters). Arguably, Elia is an expert in these matters, but I do not think she is on the city payroll.
loading...
To get back to a few points – elia is doing a huge job for no money and little credit except for most of the comments here. What we all need to do is to make it clear to those in positions of power that it is their responsibility to do their jobs and if they don’t to file complaints regarding any sort of access problem – whether mentioned here or encountered by any of us as we go about our daily lives (or try to)
loading...
Bottom line, the complaint process is more often, than not, the best way to resolve Access Barriers, especially when those barriers are the responsibility of the local government. As we all know, the wall of resistance can be very difficult to break down! I find it very hard to have sympathy for the “we don’t have money” defense! The MA AAB has been in existence since 1968 & the DOJ American’s with Disabilities Act will be 20 years old this July; why weren’t the required Access features built when the economy was great and businesses were flourishing!
Unfortunately Individuals with Disabilities are often forced to use a complaint driven process, I have no problem submitting complaint after complaint to the MA AAB and have received excellent results over the past 9 years.
loading...
There you have it. The only thing to do is to take the time and energy to perform consistent actions for the public’s benefit. I happen to know that this is what Scott and Karen are doing, on a daily, ongoing basis! In fact, there are many advocates, throughout the state, who are also working on these issues regularly and consistently, for no wages. Unsung and unwelcomed Sheros.
We probably all agree that it is legitimate and worthy to present a cost/benefit analysis for all municipal Capital Needs deliberations.
Intrepid, Scott, Karen, Imux and others remind SV readers also of the potentially sudden legal liability costs resulting from wasteful inaction (negligence), and wasteful action (design & construction mistakes).
Most folks i hear from and talk with seem to agree that there are indisputable rippling and multiplicative public benefits associated with Access & Opportunity principles being built into every public service, program and activity.
So, how is the case made, step by step? For starters: How is Public Benefit quantified?
loading...
Realistic solutions:
1. Get a legally binding promise that new construction in Somerville will properly follow guidelines for handicap access.
2. Identify the most problematic entries/exits for handicapped people and guide whatever budget money possible towards fixing them
An idea: during a protest, why not mark the parts of ramps and other entry ways that are problematic with red chalk. It’s easy to point to a red line and say “that’s a problem!” Hard to get someone to listen to 2% versus %8 variations from standard and legal blah blah blahs.
loading...
Question: who is going to pay to redo all these sidewalks? I said it before — Elia is doing a great job highlighting this, but it was our local government that screwed up these projects in the first place. Why would anyone trust that they can fix things cost-effectively? They can’t.
Take a look at the latest sidewalk ramps. They’re still not ADA-compliant.
loading...
Great ideas, Skyler! (We’d have a completely red-chalked city, too)
But, I don’t know if a local access promise will be any more sincere than the signed Civil Rights, Affirmative Housing, etc. certificates the mayor already signs that go to HUD and other Federal agencies yearly. Those are legally binding documents; and, complaints regarding ongoing discrimination (such as the presence of barriers to accessing opportunities within local government programs) can legitimately be sent to the Civil Rights Departments of certain Federal agencies, as a result of those assurances.
@Xumi- yes, you are right! Even recently constructed curbcuts and repoured sidewalks were incorrectly constructed. Xumi, how about you post a blog and/or some pictures of the ones you’ve found?
Regarding the city’s funds, DPW’s fiscal year 2009 A & F Municipal Budget was approved for $1,376,861, and $1,331,220 requested for FY 2010. Here’s one of DPW’s A & F Main Priorities for 2010: “Process all construction and design contracts and funding for Public Works in compliance with M.G.L.”
Sarah and Skyler and all: Here is one of the documents (out of many) that have been presented to the Mayor, other elected officials, and Department Heads over the past 5 years. In this 2007 review, 103 residents’ reported street and facility priorities are presented:
DISABILITY ACCESS REPORT, Somerville, MA 2007 at: http://www.slideshare.net/eilily/somerville-ma-access-report-fy07
loading...
The Union Square Main Streets program has scheduled the Somerville Trivia Night event again at the Somerville City Club, for March 4, 2011.
Here’s today’s attempt to make the 2011 Wicked Trivia contest available to ALL SMAHT VILLENS!:
http://www.slideshare.net/eilily/somerville-city-club-not-wicked-accessible
loading...
8%+ cross slope! unbelievable!
loading...