An accessibility plan prepared by outside consultants details over 250 violations of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) in town buildings and recreational facilities. Violations range from sign heights to complete lack of access to most recreational areas. Some violations can be corrected easily by the town and school facilities managers, according to Town Administrator Tim Bragan, while others will require large capital expenditures.
The plan was prepared by The Center for Living and Working in partnership with James M. Mazik Consulting Services and paid for by a grant from the Massachusetts Office of Disabilities. All local governments were required to complete a self-evaluation of their facilities and programs by January 1993, but according to Commission on Disabilities Co-Chair Toni Spacciapoli, the town’s existing plan was “woefully inadequate.”
The new plan identifies about 200 violations in the town’s municipal buildings, including the schools. Many involve objects such as coat hooks that are out of reach to people with certain disabilities, and objects protruding from walls such as fire extinguishers that can present a hazard to visually impaired people. Almost every building has violations involving doors that require excessive force to open or doors that close too quickly.
Mazik told Commission on Disabilities Co-Chair Davida Bagatelle that, in the 50 or so plans they have done, Harvard is in “the upper tier of compliance.” While there are a number of issues, he said, “The areas that are most heavily used are reasonably accessible.” He identified the Bromfield School and the beach as the facilities posing the most challenges.
One surprising result of the study was the 42 violations found at the new elementary school, which is only two years old. More than half of the violations are in the school’s bathrooms and most involve objects that are placed either too high or too low for some disabled students to reach. The full list of violations was sent to the building’s architects at Arrowstreet, who identified cases where the builder, Shawmut, or its subcontractors did not meet specifications. School Superintendent Linda Dwight told the Press that Tom Murphy of NV5 project management is helping the town seek repairs or restitution for cases that involve more than a simple fix.
The study also identified more than 50 violations in the town’s recreational facilities. Many of those violations were considered problematic by respondents to an accessibility survey conducted last winter by the Commission on Disabilities. According to Spacciapoli, about half of the 45 respondents identified themselves as having a disability. Athletic fields, playgrounds, and the town beach were all mentioned as lacking in accessibility for people with mobility issues.
Limited accessibility at town beach
The foremost ADA violation at the beach is the lack of accessible routes for travel to the public areas, including the docks and the playground. While the beach does have one mobility chair that would provide beach and water access for a wheelchair user, the plan identified that as insufficient, since it would accommodate only one person. Instead, beach mats were suggested. Lack of access to picnic tables, grilling stations, and benches was also mentioned. Not every one of those items would need to be accessible according to the plan, and it identified specific locations where accessible paths would satisfy compliance.
Multiple violations were also found in the beach house bathrooms, but one of the two is being renovated to be ADA compliant, according to Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Bob O’Shea. He told the Press the renovation is complete except for the ramp, which should be done by June. Both bathrooms will be designated as unisex bathrooms.
O’Shea said he wasn’t sure that his commission would find beach mats a good accessibility solution. He said mats restrict where wheelchair users can go, but the mobility chair allows users to go into sunny or shady areas, to the water’s edge, and even into the water. He added that the beach has had a mobility chair for about five years and to his knowledge it has never been used. “Obviously,” he said, “you want to have it when somebody needs it.”
When asked about providing access to all areas of the beach, O’Shea said that’s going to take some study. Docks, he said, would be difficult to make accessible, because changing water levels cause them to move during the season. But, he said, one piece of new equipment is being installed that will make getting in and out of canoes and kayaks easier for elderly and mildly disabled people. It’s called a “yak port,” and the funds to purchase it were donated by the Lions Club. The crew team donated three new sections of dock to install the port on, and it should be ready for use this summer. He added that the port does not provide the functionality of an ADA-compliant seat on a roller that lowers a person into a boat, which costs about $10,000.
Parking, bathrooms a problem at athletic fields
The town’s athletic fields also ranked high among violations. Most of those violations fell into three categories: parking, travel routes to the field and bleachers, and ADA compliant portable toilets.
Ann Lees, Charlie Waite, Ryan Land, and Depot Road fields all have dirt parking lots with no designated accessible parking. Compliance will require one paved accessible spot for vans and one for passenger vehicles. No playing fields, including the field near the library and the Pond Road fields, have accessible routes of travel to the players’ benches or bleachers, and the paths to the portable toilets, if they exist, are overgrown with weeds. In addition, there are no level areas for a wheelchair near the bleachers at most of the fields. The plan calls for accessible paths to all public areas at the fields.
While the town does provide one “accessible” portable toilet at some fields, those toilets are not ADA compliant. The difference, according to the plan, is that, while accessible toilets allow wheelchair entrance, once inside, the toilets are too high or too close to a wall, and grab bars, toilet paper holders, and soap dispensers are out of reach. In addition, the doors close too fast and the door pulls and locking mechanisms are difficult for some disabled people to use.
O’Shea said Parks and Rec needs to investigate how to provide access to the fields. Some options he mentioned were paved or crushed stone walkways, but he added that some fields don’t have the right slope and could require grading or landscaping. As for the portable toilets, he said his commission rents those for $120 a month each, and ADA compliant versions would cost about $400 a month each, which would increase the commission’s annual budget needs.
The playground at Harvard Park is also in violation for several reasons, including the lack of an accessible route of travel inside the playground because of the wood chip ground cover, and to the playground because of the area around the gate. In addition, there is only one component, a swing, that is considered ADA compliant.
O’Shea said this year’s Annual Town Meeting voted to approve $50,000 from the Community Preservation Fund to fix the bottom of the ramp that goes to the playground, which will solve that issue. In addition, $10,000 of CPC funds (voted last year) are being used to build an accessible path to the ADA compliant swing, as well as to buy more equipment if money is left over. The commission is considering an accessible picnic table and more playground components. But, he said, making the playground completely ADA compliant would require “a complete redo.”
Beach is a high priority
Based on survey results and the accessibility plan, both Spacciapoli and Bagatelle agree that ADA violations at the beach should be at the top of the town’s list of things to fix. Spacciapoli told the Press that one survey respondent said, “Please make the town beach more accessible so my mom, sisters, and I can enjoy the pond.” Bagatelle said the playgrounds, both at the beach and Harvard Park, should also be a high priority. She said there are many more students with mobility issues than there used to be at both the elementary school and the high school. She added that it’s not just a matter of accessibility, but also inclusivity. “Children should be able to play with their friends,” she said.
The second half of the Press’s report on the accessibility plan will include details of the violations in the town’s municipal buildings, the plan’s recommendations for townwide policies and procedures, and how the town intends to address the long list of violations. The accessibility plan document, titled “Self-evaluation and Transition Plan’’ is available on the Commission on Disabilities page of the town website.
