[NFBWATlk] Sedro-Woolley Forms ADA Advisory Group - Goskagit.com - October 30, 2020

Mon Nov 2 18:57:57 UTC 2020

I was part of a team who didd a ADA survey for the city of Erie PA in early
2000 when I stil lived there. It was amazing going through everything with a
check list. The door for a Police cell designated for an aDA  accommodation
was twenty-five inches wide. We made them change out the door and the bed.
The fire house where the trucks were repaired were eight very steep step up
to get in the doors. That was a real education for me to see a man with the
same bone disorder I have struggle mightily up those steps. Now, I am in a
wheelchair like he was. I couldn't get up those steps like he did with his
walker. The zoo was unusable for me and the lady with dyslexia. The skating
rink had no way for a person with a disability to go to the bathroom. Sorry,
what about the wheelchair hockey league. In our own Mason County Courthouse
there is nothing to tell you of an elevator to the second floor. Here one of
our members was walking all around to get to the steps up. Now if that were
everyone's choice. But these wheels do not climb steps.

Go get em Judy!

Becky in her Joy Wheels  

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBWATlk <nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Judy Jones via
NFBWATlk
Sent: Monday, November 02, 2020 9:59 AM
To: 'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List' <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Judy Jones <sonshines59 at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NFBWATlk] Sedro-Woolley Forms ADA Advisory Group -
Goskagit.com - October 30, 2020

Thank you, Noel!

Judy

-----Original Message-----
From: NFBWATlk <nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Nightingale, Noel
via NFBWATlk
Sent: Monday, November 2, 2020 9:48 AM
To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
Cc: Nightingale, Noel <Noel.Nightingale at ed.gov>
Subject: [NFBWATlk] Sedro-Woolley Forms ADA Advisory Group - Goskagit.com -
October 30, 2020

Congratulations, Judy!

https://www.goskagit.com/news/sedro-woolley-forms-ada-advisory-group/article
_2c8c1f05-9e26-5d50-aa29-22f57bd55d51.html

Sedro-Woolley Forms ADA Advisory Group
By Vince Richardson
Goskagit.com
October 30, 2020
SEDRO-WOOLLEY - The city of Sedro-Woolley has formed an Americans with
Disabilities Act Advisory Group to assist with developing an ADA Transition
Plan.
The plan will set the groundwork for the city as it aims to provide equal
access to public programs, services, facilities and activities for all
residents, including those with disabilities.
A virtual public workshop will be held via Zoom from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5.
A five-minute online survey is open until Nov. 8. Go to
ci.sedro-woolley.wa.us<http://ci.sedro-woolley.wa.us/> and find the ADA
Transition Plan under the Resources menu.
The advisory group, which holds monthly virtual meetings, will offer
recommendations to the city regarding ADA improvements.
The state Department of Transportation helped spur this push for ADA
compliance.
"Basically, the Department of Transportation started to put an emphasis on
agencies, making sure they have an ADA Transition Plan," said Director of
Public Works Mark Freiberger, who is managing the local project. "(The plan
will include) an inventory of our facilities either built to their
requirements or to know if it is not."
The department set April 21 as a deadline for agencies to have a transition
plan in place, "or else you are not eligible for federal transportation
funds," Freiberger said. "So that is the hammer."
The advisory group is comprised of five community members who either manage
individuals or are involved with ADA safety issues professionally, are
disabled themselves, or both. Three city staff members help facilitate and
provide support to the advisory group.
Judy Jones is a member of the group. Legally blind, the Sedro-Woolley
resident is well versed in the ADA realm. Her husband Chris is also blind.
"We have been involved a lot in disability issues and accommodations," Jones
said. "We are involved with the National Federation of the Blind, one of the
largest blind movements in the United States with upwards of 50,000 members.
Every state and territory has an affiliate."
Getting involved with this advisory group was an easy and obvious decision
for Jones.
Before moving to Sedro-Woolley, she lived in Twin Falls, Idaho, and worked
for the Idaho Commission For The Blind And Visually Impaired until retiring
in 2017.
"I have been really impressed with what I have seen so far," Jones said of
her experience with the advisory group. "... I am just glad the city wants
to do something and is pulling some disabled people in to get their
feedback."
Jones said she has learned a lot from listening to other disabled people and
the barriers they face, including some that never occurred to her.
Those barriers will undoubtedly be addressed by the advisory group, as it
works to have a transition plan in place by the end of March.

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