Sometimes, she has trouble finding a parking spot. Other times, she can’t quite grab what she’s reaching for.
To an able-bodied person, these moments are nothing more than a slight inconvenience. But to people with disabilities, the lack of handicapped parking or soap dispensers placed too high on restroom walls can be time-consuming or unconquerable obstacles.
Those moments are becoming less frequent in the city of Starkville, Beth Anne Ellzey said.
“I’m blessed to be independent,” said Ellzey, who has used a wheelchair for more than 40 years. “And if it weren’t for some of the places here, I wouldn’t be able to do that.”
Ellzey, a member of Starkville’s Commission on Disability, said the city’s efforts to create more accessibility for disabled residents have grown each year since the commission began advising city leaders.
There are more curb cuts and ramps around town, but there’s also greater attention to detail, such as doorway thresholds and the torque needed to open a door.
But there’s always more to learn.
Thursday, the commission will host a workshop — 2010 ADA Standard for Accessible Design: Are you ready? — in the activities room at the Starkville Sportsplex on Lynn Lane. The workshop runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will feature a member of the U.S. Access Board, the leading federal agency that created the ADA guidelines used to write the new 2010 ADA standards. The cost is $35, which includes breakfast and lunch. continuing-education units from Mississippi State University will be provided for $20.
The commission is a board-appointed advisory group. It advises the city on compliance with federal and state disability laws, and provides assistance with identification of barriers to integration and participation of people with disabilities. The commission also provides information and assistance to community members.
Making progress
“Since the commission was formed in June 2006, the city of Starkville has become progressive when it comes to accessibility,” said Whitney Hilton, past chairwoman for the commission. “Within this six-year span, the city has completed the first four steps for city governments required by the ADA of 1990, designated an ADA coordinator, written a notice about ADA, created a grievance procedure and recently conducted a self-evaluation of city facilities.”
Starkville does a self-evaluation each year with members of the commission to identify issues and develop solutions to the city’s ADA needs.
City Planner Ben Griffith said the city regulates its own facilities, including voting precincts. The greatest issue is City Hall, which is only ADA accessible through a rear door into the courtroom. City Hall doesn’t have an elevator.
Before the disabilities act
City Hall, built more than 20 years before the ADA was established, is an example of how buildings were constructed before the ADA.
“It’s a primary facility we need to look at,” said Griffith, who noted a phased improvement approach the Board of Aldermen passed in 2011.The first phase started in October. It is $9,000 to add a listening device in the courtroom, rails in the restroom and Braille signage throughout the police station and City Hall, along with decreasing the ramp slope from 16 to 8 percent.
While the city would still conduct ADA evaluations without the aid of the commission, Griffith and Bob Hall, city building inspector and ADA coordinator, gain invaluable firsthand knowledge.
“My experience with working with city engineers is their knowledge is in the right place, their heart is in the right place, but they’ve had no experience (being disabled),” Ellzey said. “And it’s hard to bridge that gap without someone with a disability.
“I’m available for city engineers, to give them a visual.”
According to the 2000 census, the city had 3,229 people with disabilities, including 2,028 between the ages of 21 and 65.
For more information about the workshop, call 662-323-2525, ext. 130.
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