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Disabled Durangoans face local obstacles ADA-compliance issues cited

By Mary Shinn

Herald Staff Writer

Before the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, Fort Lewis College, the Durango Public Library and the Mercy Regional Medical Center were tough to navigate for those in a wheelchair.

While those same places today represent progress in town, many buildings such as the Durango Post Office still pose obstacles for locals 25 years after the ADA passed.

“If you can’t get into the post office, then you’ve lost some of your rights. ... If you can’t get into a store, you’ve not only lost some of your rights, but you end up being disenfranchised from your community,” said Martha Mason, executive director of the Southwest Center for Independence.

On the anniversary of the law, the group helped organize a protest at the Durango Post Office on Friday. The group choose the Post Office because it is tough for those in a wheelchair to reach the counter to pay with a debit card or reach some of the products, said Jason Ragsdell, an independent living coordinator with SCI.

As a result of the protest, Durango Post Office management promised to make some changes, Mason said.

But the need for change is much greater than one building.

“Younger people just assume everything is accessible because there are curb cuts,” Ragsdell said.

But many of Durango’s older buildings need to be retrofitted with ramps, wider doorways and accessible bathrooms.

One of the biggest challenges cited by local advocates: Assumptions by business owners that there is a grandfather clause in the ADA, he said.

It is true if a restaurant or a shop owner remodels, he or she must make the structure more accessible. But even if a business has not been remodeled, it must still create an accessible way into the building and an accessible way to the bathroom, Mason said.

A local group, the Accessible Communities Team, or ACT, works to encourage businesses to make ADA-compliant changes. It has pursued this mission over the last two years, and it helped the city get a grant to encourage local businesses to make changes.

If businesses are interested in making a change, such as putting in a ramp, the grant will pay for half the work, he said.

So far, ten businesses have signed up, but the work has been slow.

“Even when the city offers free money, businesses hesitate to do it because they don’t think they have to,” he said.

The consequence could be a lawsuit for inaccessibility, and these are becoming more common in large cities, he said.

However, in some cases, businesses settle lawsuits out of court, and they don’t make any physical changes to their buildings.

“Nobody really wins; it’s really the worst-case scenario,” he said.

Another consequence is simply lost business as locals who can’t enter Main Avenue and older building go to big-box stores and tourists with disabilities head for Telluride, Mason said.

“Durango is way behind,” she said.

The need for change is likely to become more acute as Durangoans age and they require more better accessibility, including accommodations for those who are hearing- and sight-impaired.

As baby boomers age, Mason is hopeful they will demand more changes so they can stay active outside their homes.

“I think they are going to speak up when their rights are denied,” she said.

mshinn@durangoherald.com

Jul 26, 2016
Local establishments ‘tagged’ for lack of accessibility for people with disabilities
Jul 26, 2015
Americans with Disabilities Act changes millions of lives


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