Community’s input will help to finalize ADA Transition Plan

SOMERVILLE – An exhaustive self-evaluation and compliance review of the city’s accessibility, which was followed by an extensive and multipronged public comment process, will now evolve, once more with the help of the community, into a living, multiyear Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan (“The Plan”). 

The Plan, which has received federal approval from the Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT), which regulates such efforts, outlines the methodology and time frame for making the necessary modifications to the city’s policies and practices, and for removing existing barriers, to ensure that residents, irrespective of disability, have equal access to the city’s services, programs and activities, streets, sidewalks, buildings, parks, playgrounds and parking lots. We are honored that U.S. DOT has requested permission to use our Plan’s public rights-of-way policies as a model when training other municipalities. 

Specifically, the ADA required Plan, which is based on the self-evaluation, details a physical inventory of the city and its policies, practices and procedures regarding accessibility. It also identifies existing barriers, specifies the critical steps that have already been taken to increase access to individuals with disabilities, and most importantly outlines a comprehensive and multiyear plan to achieve ADA compliance to the maximum extent feasible.

“This Plan will help us build on our efforts to knock down barriers to equal access, opportunity, and full civic participation for our family members, friends, and neighbors with disabilities in the city. Part of the key to achieving this is public feedback. We want to hear from residents, and especially those who face disability barriers, which goals and policies you want prioritized going forward to achieve maximum impact, so we can better ensure the Plan will make the most meaningful and positive difference in the lives of residents with disabilities,” said Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone.

 

Feedback received will be incorporated into the final document. The city will accept questions and comments on the draft report via e-mail or phone, at the public meeting, or in any reasonable manner accessible to residents. 

 

A draft of the Plan is available on the City’s website for public review and comment at http://www.somervillema.gov/ADAdraftPlan. The comment period will culminate in a public meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 12, 2016, at 6 p.m. in City Hall’s Aldermanic Chamber, 93 Highland Ave. To request an electronic or hard copy of the report, contact ADA Coordinator Betsy Allen at 617-625-6600 ext. 2323, or BAllen@somervillema.gov.

 

Once finalized, the Plan will serve as a living document, updated annually by the ADA Coordinator, to reflect Somerville’s evolution and serve as the city’s roadmap for the future. 

 

“We work diligently and conscientiously every day to secure access, inclusion and widespread mobility for every Somerville resident,” said Betsy Allen, ADA Coordinator for the City of Somerville. “We wholeheartedly believe that a city that is more accessible, more inclusive, and more accommodating is a better city, a more livable city and a stronger city.”