by eila in Accessibility, Civil and Human Rights, Public Health & Safety, Schools and Youth
Posted on October 24, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Last Modified on November 6, 2011 at 7:46 pm
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If there were a listing of ”100 Worst Communities for Young Residents With DisAbilities,” Somerville would be at the top of the list.
The Mayor’s Young Somerville Advisory Group end-of-year meeting and presentation (Oct. 26) is advertised as ”Free and open to the public.” This public event includes a Q & A with the mayor.
Apparently, Mayor Curtatone isn’t aware that Villens between the ages of 21-35, who experience stairs as a deal-breaking-barrier, are also legitimate members of the public.
The event will be held at Precinct, located in Union Square.
above top photo: the inaccessible Precinct entrance
above bottom photo: entrance stairs as viewed from bottom
The Precinct, in the basement of the 66-70 Union Square “Plaza Building” is only reachable by a set of steep downward stairs. Although an elevator services the facility’s first through third floors, it is not available to patrons at this basement bar.
Meaningless rhetoric or State-of the-Art ignorance?
One of the Mayor’s YSAG goals is to, “increase communication between City government and people in this age group.” This inaccessibly-planned Annual public meeting is serviced by the mayor’s designated ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Coordinator, C. Campbell, who is also a Communications Department staffer.
I’m guessing that YSAG doesn’t intend to leave out people with disAbilities; they’re just unaware of what “public access” means, by code and by law. But Mayor Joe and his designated ADA Coordinator ought to have a clue by now…
Consequences Include Lack of Equal Opportunity, Lack of Social Inclusion, Lack of Political Stepping-Stones
As a result of the multiple barriers-by-design in Somerville’s recreational programs, qualified Young Villens living with physical disabilities can’t work at alot of programs within the Somerville Youth Workers Network.
Villens living as disabled are also poorly serviced by many of Somerville’s Shape-Up activities, which claim to be “improving Somerville infrastructure to augment access to areas for walking and biking.” A recent SV post ran down the E. Somerville Safe Routes to Schools map which demonstrates a city disregarding State and Federal pedestrian access codes.
This No-Access Mayor’s 2011 Annual meeting of the Young Somerville Advisory Group is yet another example of Somerville deciders demonstrating lack of Know-how.
Young Villens with diverse abilities can Show-how. Their legitimate rights to equal access & opportunities have been on the books since the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Let’s Move, Joe.
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Looking at that flight of steps makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. It doesn’t take an architect or a person with a disability or even an ordinary adult to see that access is not in the mind of this community. A child could easily see the truth.
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Yep, those architects that designed this building probably over a 100 years ago were total assholes.
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Knut – I don’t think the architects were, but I do think that the insensitivity of the city to accessibility issues, consistently and eloquently brought forward by eila, should be the real target of your comments.
eila, maybe the city would pay a lot more attention to this issue if it were on the front page of both local papers, with pictures of the YSAG attendees, say, next week?
Just a suggestion.
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Pictures of attendees? Creep!
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**IMPORTANT** I don’t blame the Mayor, the City, or the architect.I blame the author of this article as Precinct IS wheelchair accessible.The elevator DOES serve the basement.A quick phone call or email to fact check would be nice before you put down someones businness. Or an “undercover” walk through to see the elevator that is in plain view of the public. Great “journalism”
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What else would you expect from Somerville voices. It’s just divisive, sloppy “journalism” as usual.
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Gee thanks, Roger. I don’t see any mention of accessibility on your website, Ronan. You might want to add that info for interested parties. I’m glad to hear it!
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Mr. Geary: I did visit the Precinct last December, and was informed that the elevator was not available for the bar patrons.
Here is some information I hope you’ll find useful:
If you are indicating that the elevator (which can only be accessed through the back door) is accessible, then the Precinct needs to provide signage at the inaccessible front entrances- (and not merely the communication device that was added in 2010, which provides no information about how to use it, nor whether it is available for Precinct patrons.)
in addition, if the back entrance is actually independently accessible via the intercom system, there needs to be directional signage provided along the entire route from the front of the Precinct to the back door- a distance of about 500 feet.
Moreover, the pedestrian route to the back entrance is completely hazardous at the current moment, and even includes an active driveway. This is not currently an accessible route and it’s certainly not a safe route; but, if it is repaved to offer a safe, skid-free route with code-compliant cross-slopes , it might prove to be useable in the future.
Finally, a locked entrance is NOT, by code or by Federal law, considered an accessible entrance. So, if the back entrance can be independently opened without staff assistance (except for a two-way intercom/ buzzer), that will be OK.
So, at this moment, the back entrance is not safely usable; there is no adequate signage; and the Precinct cannot be considered accessible by any standards.
I hope you can review ADA Title III regulations so that your information to the public can be more reliable. People who don’t use stairs shouldn’t be set-up to fail.
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great response, Eila! So often we hear that “we are actually accessible if you just do this this and this,” and then we find out that it’s through the back, the door is locked, and the path to get there is dangerous. Venue managers need to join the real world, and city governments need to start obeying the law.
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Eila, you are so right. An entrance that one can’t find or is placed in either an unsafe or simply a segregated location is the same as no accessible entrance at all.
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I commented on another website about this issue and thought I would include my thoughts here, as well…
YSAG was started in 2007 and has done a great job reaching a demographic that has long been ignored, disregarded, and disengaged. Although my age group (I’m 31 years old)comprises over 40% of Somerville’s population, I am frustrated with the low voting turnouts and little to no presence at city meetings. ResiStat meetings are starting to offer me some hope, however
With that said, the issues that face our disabled community have also been ignored and I was mortified to hear of their physical hurt while traveling over brick-paved crosswalks now found in Magoun Square. Although I was told by one meeting attendee that the bricks used were not as bad as others that have been installed elsewhere in the past, this offers me, an advocate for Magoun, little consolation. I want everyone to feel as welcome as I do in my beloved square!
I will not argue with Ronan regarding the establishment’s accessibility as I’m sure they would assist anyone with entering Precinct, however, I don’t think it is a visually welcoming place for YSAG to hold their presentations when looking through the eyes of a member of the disabled community.
I have suggested to the YSAG organizers that they may want to consider visually welcoming and accessible locations that are more reflective of the great work the group does. This has been enthusiastically received and I will continue to request this of the group that represents my peers and I.
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Courtney, if it’s done right, noone needs to look helpless, nor require “assistance” to enter a public place.
That’s just basic dignity and equal rights.
It’s also the law.
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You’re not going to get an argument from me on that, Eila. That’s why I pointed out that it’s not visually welcoming and suggested to organizers that the venue be changed.
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