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Disabled Arlington man continues his quest for access | Arlington | News from Fort Worth 

Star-Telegram.com

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/09/11/2461097/disabled-arlington-man-continues.html

By Elizabeth Campbell

 

liz at star-telegram.com

 

ARLINGTON -- A large oak tree blocked Richard Frame's path recently as he tried to maneuver his wheelchair along a sidewalk on Randol Mill Road.

 

Frame had to drive his wheelchair onto the grass or into a busy parking lot. He chose the grass but wondered: Is that the best option?

 

"Randol Mill is no place for a wheelchair," Frame said as the traffic whizzed by. "If the grass would have been muddy or wet, my chair would have gotten

stuck."

 

Frame, 47, paralyzed from the neck down by injuries in a traffic accident about 11 years ago, said he is often forced to drive his van blocks from his destination

just to find curb cuts and accessible sidewalks.

 

"One side of the street might be accessible, but there are businesses on both sides," he said.

 

Frame's fight for accessibility is not unique, and for the past five years he has been embroiled in a lawsuit with Arlington over the lack of accessibility

in the city. His case may eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

 

Frame's lawsuit was filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act -- the landmark civil rights legislation passed by Congress 20 years ago -- that prohibits

discrimination and ensures equal access to employment, state and local government services, public accommodations and transportation.

 

But while advocates for people with disabilities praise the law's passage, they say problems persist.

 

The Texas Civil Rights Project and ADAPT of Texas, a nonprofit advocacy group for the disabled, have filed 20 lawsuits this summer saying cities, counties

and businesses statewide violated the law.

 

The suits cover a range of violations, from inaccessible sidewalks to not providing an interpreter for a hearing-impaired woman who was falsely arrested

after being raped. In one lawsuit, a visually impaired mother of three children in Denton County is suing the transportation authority, saying bus drivers

did not announce stops, a requirement of the ADA.

 

Joe Berra, an attorney for the Civil Rights Project, said there is a still a belief that the ADA is about making things more convenient "rather than seeing

this as a right of access."

 

"Ignorance is often at the root of the discrimination," he said.

 

Cracked and steep

 

Frame's court battle started in 2005. Awaiting test results at the Medical Center of Arlington, he wanted to run errands at medical supply stores and restaurants

as well as visit Vandergriff Park.

 

But Frame found that the sidewalks on Omega, Mayfield and Matlock roads had cracks and indentations and were tilted too steeply, making access impossible.

 

The Matlock sidewalk had steep cross slopes, and a utility pole forced him to leave the sidewalk, according to his original lawsuit.

 

Later, Frame was joined in his lawsuit by others complaining of missing or badly sloped curb ramps, impassable or nonexistent sidewalks and a lack of handicapped

parking in areas such as Abram and Division streets, California Lane and Randol Mill.

 

Frame's lawsuit said Arlington repeatedly violated the ADA by not providing accessible curbs and sidewalks in parts of the city. Until Frame sued, Assistant

City Attorney Denise Wilkerson said, the city had received no requests for repairs.

 

Three years later, U.S. District Judge Terry Means in Fort Worth dismissed the case, ruling that Frame waited too long to sue. He also noted that Frame

had filed 14 "accommodation discrimination" lawsuits -- including some against private businesses -- but had voluntarily dropped most of them.

 

Frame's attorney appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which initially upheld the dismissal but this summer reversed itself on a 2-1 vote that

would allow the case to go forward but under a narrower interpretation of the ADA, which defines sidewalks and curbs as facilities, not services.

 

The appeals court has ruled only on procedural issues and has not decided the merits of Frame's case or Arlington's obligations. So now the court battle

hinges on whether sidewalks and curb cuts are programs and services or facilities.

 

'A constant duty'

 

Wilkerson said standards for accessibility vary depending on whether access to service or programs is denied, not just on whether a facility doesn't comply

with the law.

 

When providing access to a building, cities must comply only if there is new construction or alterations. But access to a service, such as paying a water

bill, requires more frequent updating, Wilkerson said. Under the facilities standards, Frame had to show why he was denied access to a service such as

a library or a voting location.

 

"Under program accessibility, the city would have a constant duty to maintain all sidewalks under the ADA. The cost to taxpayers is significantly greater

under program accessibility," Wilkerson said.

 

Since the ADA's passage, Arlington has provided annual funding for curb cuts and sidewalks, but because of the economy and budget cuts, the amount is less

for the upcoming budget year, she said.

 

Miguel de la O of Florida, Frame's attorney, said he has filed for a rehearing before the New Orleans appeals court, asking that all the justices hear the

case. He said that the court's latest ruling is contrary to other appeal court rulings and that the U.S. Justice Department has said sidewalks and curbs

must be accessible whether they lead to city services or not.

 

The latest ruling "came out of the blue. I didn't expect them to reverse themselves on this issue," de la O said.

 

He said Arlington should have been making the necessary changes to sidewalks and curbs all along.

 

"When you make repairs, put money into the budget. It's more expensive, but if you have to go back and retrofit, it's more expensive," the attorney said.

 

Frame questioned why the city did not make the necessary access changes to sidewalks and curbs when the economy was more robust.

 

Low priority

 

Before his accident, Frame, a former engineer, rarely thought of the barriers facing disabled people and had little knowledge of the ADA.

 

"Like most people, I knew about the curb cuts and handicapped parking, but it didn't register with me until I had to deal with those issues," he said.

 

Now, Frame said, when running errands or keeping medical appointments, he must carefully plan his routes. Barrier-free sidewalks are a necessity, not a

luxury, he said.

 

Frame -- who deals with similar accessibility issues in Dallas and Fort Worth -- said the concerns of the disabled are often a low priority for government

officials. He said he sent e-mails and faxes to the Arlington city attorney's office about his situation but got no response until the lawsuit was filed.

 

"The only way I could get their attention was through another lawyer," he said.

 

Since becoming injured, Frame has received training as an accessibility specialist and formed Access Texas, in which he helps others with disabilities who

have had difficulty gaining access to businesses or other services.

 

While Frame is still fighting for himself and others in court over accessibility for the handicapped, he is happy with the progress he's seen.

 

"I wouldn't be able to do the things I do or go the places I go if it weren't for the ADA," he said.

 

Elizabeth Campbell,

 

817-390-7696