As the city continues its process of gathering information this summer to develop an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan, staff is reaching out to residents for input through a survey.
Islanders can weigh in on the 17-question survey, which chiefly focuses on residents’ experiences in the city regarding access to public facilities, at www.MercerIslandADA.com. After the survey portion of the process is complete, the city will conduct community focus groups en route to developing the final draft and plan to present to the city council and residents by early 2022, according to city transportation engineer Lia Klein.
“We’re evaluating all of the sidewalks and crosswalks, paths and the buildings, City Hall, just trying to find everything that isn’t compliant so we can better serve everyone on the Island who lives with a disability or takes care of someone with a disability,” said Klein, adding that law requires cities to have an ADA plan in place. The ADA of 1990 prohibits discrimination based on disability.
Klein, who has been working for the city since last November and in her field for six years, is excited that the city is making it a priority to improve the Island landscape. She said that the 20% of Island residents who are 65 or older and the 5% of people below 65 who have a disability will benefit from the new plan.
The city hired a consultant to survey the Island and they have a robust data base featuring the status of sidewalks, curb ramps, crosswalks, buildings, docks and more. Klein said that ADA-compliance plays a part in all of the city’s projects that are involved with roadways, parks or sidewalks. Two of the city’s prominent renovation projects at the Mercerdale Park playground and the Luther Burbank docks feature ADA-accessible elements.
Of the lengthy information-gathering process, Klein said: “It’s very detailed. We’re taking information on the slopes of everything, the width of everything, the height of the doorways.”
On the city’s website, it notes that Mercer Island develops its buildings and infrastructure to meet ADA standards and, where possible, updates facilities to meet those standards.
According to Klein, some community feedback that the city has received includes the bathroom doors at one park being too heavy to open, and some crosswalk push buttons not emitting an audible signal to indicate that it’s time for visually impaired people to cross. If Klein receives a comment from a school, she refers that concern to the school district.
“We’re really just trying to get feedback from the community to figure what is most important to them and how we can prioritize things and spend our money on things that are going to most effectively help,” Klein said.
