My office hit a bit of a roadblock yesterday. With the big event 2 ½ days out- and people starting to load in today, the city’s Building Safety division denied our permit for our 2 VIP areas because they were not ADA compliant. Both VIP sections are platforms that are 24in off the ground with a step-up, and not wheelchair accessible. The platforms have been the same in the past, but were never denied a permit. My boss felt since the platforms are invitation only, and therefore private, we do not need to make them wheelchair accessible. Building Safety felt someone we invite could bring along a friend or relative in a wheelchair and we need to be prepared.
I ran out to the park with my boss and co-worker, along with the company that would need to build the ramps on the phone. We began measuring the area since for every inch in elevation, you need 1 foot of ramp- therefore we would need to squeeze a 24ft ramp into a small area. The situation was stressful because we needed to be mindful of access to the stages, not eliminating too much public seating with the ramps and how they were going to get built when the company needed is already fully committed this weekend due to the amount of events in the area. Once we had determined the best placement, we headed back to the office and explained the situation to my boss’s boss- who then went to the city attorney, spoke with Building Safety and made the whole situation go away by putting responsibility for accommodating anyone who can’t access the VIP platform because of physical limitations.I kept hearing in my head lectures in classes about being aware of ADA compliance and the importance of accessibility. While I can understand that the platforms are private and it would be an incredible hassle and expense, not to mention an eyesore, I think the VIP areas should have been equipped with wheel-chair ramps. Glendale events are supposed to be family friendly, so if some of our musical artists or big sponsors wanted to bring their family- which might just include an elderly parent or grandparent in a wheelchair we would have to scramble to accommodate them and make them feel welcome. As a family friendly event- we should be prepared to welcome family and friends of any physical condition.
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I think that I tend to overlook things being ADA accesible here, because our Athletic Director is in a wheelchair. Sometimes he has to go around the building to the accesible door, or take the ramp outside up to the first floor (because the command building doesn't have an elevator), but in general this entire base is on a hill. There are ramps everywhere because having that many stairs would just be a hassle.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if next time they have a VIP stage if they could just incorporate the ramp directly on the side of it... so: you said you needed 24ft of ramp correct? Place the start of the ramp on one side, and have it wrap around the stage until it meets the 24ft height and have the stage entrance there.
They had actually been looking at wrapping the ramp around one of the stages, but were happy not to have to build the ramp at all. I'm in charge of the VIP area the next two days and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for any accessibility issues so they can be addressed in the future- planned for and not an after thought. I had actually made a suggestion for more ramps leading from the park sidewalks to the closed streets because I saw 3 people lifting a man in a wheelchair from the sidewalk down to the road at the Chocolate Affaire! Unfortunately, from what I can tell they didn't take the suggestion for the event this weekend.
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