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For most of us, access to parks and wildlife areas is an experience that can renew and recharge against the stresses of everyday life. But for those with disabilities and special needs, enjoying the outdoor spaces the rest of us take for granted can be a challenge.
Enabling access to public spaces for all citizens was the goal behind the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. And while the law has been transformative for so many Americans, like all regulations it is not without costs. This has driven the need for increased investment by public and private organizations to make infrastructure usable by those with special needs.
Failing to improve accessibility can mean being on the receiving end of formal complaints by affected individuals, leading to directives by federal authorities and court judgements that affect how much will ultimately be allocated and spent to remedy any deficiencies.
These cost issues are particularly important for the more than 89,000 units of state and local government. Every government grapples with taxpayer concerns and the development of equitable access to recreation. Policy-makers, rightfully so, should examine costs and benefits for accessibility.
And, that is exactly what happened. During the annual legislative budget process this year, a legislator asked the state parks department to justify the investment in access. The state is a WT Group Accessibility Practice client and has a strong commitment to ADA compliance. State staff turned to us and we provided projections about costs per site, to give staff and legislators a sense of direction. The budget process has a life of its own in every jurisdiction, and solid facts with accurate detail are always helpful. The WT Group offers that to all clients.
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All states must audit all sites, recommend solutions for access deficits, and note by when access will occur. Although not required, knowing the likely cost of retrofits is essential to successfully planning for ADA compliance. While states differ in process, legislative bodies generally debate the merits of competing budget priorities to find middle ground that will address as many of those priorities as possible.
Information is critical to legislative decision making. Legislators simply can’t know everything required about every topic placed before them, and some details may not be immediately apparent. For instance, while legislators almost certainly know that compliance with the ADA is the law of the land, they may not fully understand how discrimination is defined under the law, the importance of access audit goals, what a transition plan must include, and more.
WT Group access professionals conducted access audits at all of the state parks, seeking both the simple and the complex. Simple deficits might include accessible parking that is too steep, or drinking fountains without the required hi-lo bowl. Complex deficits might include trail surfaces of dirt or grass, or lake access for boating and fishing being nonexistent.
Once WT Group acquired the raw data, Tanya Scheibe, a Registered Accessibility Specialist and project manager in WT Group’s Accessibility Practice, dug into the work product to provide insights about deficiencies, anticipated retrofit costs, and information about the process used to perform the audits. State parks staff used the data in part to deliver insights about a sample state park to model the statewide results. This is powerful information for policy-makers, and supports the ongoing need for resources and actions.
The role of the WT Group is to provide information, analysis, and recommendations. While the WT Group is not in the business of helping to draft legislation, the analysis enabled substantive discussions about appropriate funding levels to ensure that state parks are available for all people to enjoy. ADA compliance benefits people with and without disabilities, and once again WT Group professionals delivered answers to ensure access for those with special needs to the simple, renewing pleasures of time spent with nature. We want to help you follow the wishes of President George H. W. Bush, who said:
“And now I sign legislation, which takes a sledgehammer to another wall, one which has for too many generations separated Americans with disabilities from the freedom they could glimpse, but not grasp. Once again, we rejoice as this barrier falls for claiming together we will not accept, we will not excuse, we will not tolerate discrimination in America.”
– President George H.W. Bush, at the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Our Accessibility Practice includes a Certified ADA Coordinator, a Registered Accessibility Specialist, a Certified Access Specialist, a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, an MSW, and an attorney licensed in Illinois that specializes in ADA compliance. And, the WT Group engineers and architects work on accessibility projects in their own work and with the Accessibility Practice. There is not a situation you’ll face that we can’t solve. For more information, contact John McGovern at jmcgovern@wtgroup.com.
