Survey examines facilities' accessibility

Author: Zamir Ahmed

A campus-wide survey looking at College facilities is now underway as part of a new effort to revise the Master Plan and better align handicap accessibility on campus with regulations outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

As part of the College's reform to the Master Plan, Massachusetts-based firm McGuinness Kessler Associates, a nationally recognized consultant for accessibility planning, is currently surveying all of the campus's major buildings. The company will then make recommendations about accessibility improvements to campus facilities once the survey is completed. After receiving the recommendations, the College will then plan what improvements should be made, and will then incorporate them into the Master Plan.

"Once [the] report is done, we will do a cost estimate for the work," said Susan Personette, assistant vice president for facilities, "and develop a long-range plan to implement the recommended improvements. This long-range plan will be incorporated into the overall Master Plan, which addresses all aspects of our physical facilities over the next 50 years."

The ADA is a civil rights law passed in 1990, that gurantees equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities in areas such as public accommodations, employment and transportation. The law gives protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, nation origin, age and religion.

Although some buildings on campus are either entirely handicap inaccessible or are only partially accessible, the College is still in compliance with the law because of the buildings' age and plans for improvements.

"ADA recognizes that it is not financially feasible to make everything fully accessible all at once, so it provides building owners with ways to increase accessibility steadily over time," said Personette. "ADA has provisions that the College has followed for many years that have gradually allowed the campus to become more accessible. I am committed to continuing this approach and would hope to even increase the funds dedicated to accessibility in the future."

The College had previously dedicated itself to making accessibility improvements even before commissioning the McGuinness Kessler survey. Twenty percent of the cost of every renovation on campus currently goes towards making ADA compliance improvements.

"On a small project, that might pay for new lever-handle hardware and new ADA signage," said Personette. "On a larger renovation, it might include new ADA compliant restrooms and a lift or elevator. The bottom line is that the College moves ahead with accessibility in incremental steps every year with our renovations, and in much larger leaps when we build a new building or a major renovation."

Recent construction projects on campus have followed ADA guidelines and created buildings that are fully handicap accessible. These construction projects include McCardell Bicentennial Hall and the New Library as well as current projects such as the Axinn Center at Starr Library. However, with recent construction on campus new issues have arisen in regard to handicap accessibility.

"We've recently been focusing on handicap parking spaces as the current construction on campus impacts parking issues for everyone," said Jodi Litchfield, the College's ADA coordinator. "I think that we'll continue to look at that issue as we continue our move toward a more pedestrian-based campus."

As the College hopes to move towards a pedestrian-based campus, handicap accessibility is being factored into improvements to the infrastructure, as reflected in proposed revisions to the Master Plan.

"In addition to surveying our buildings, McGuinness Kessler is also surveying our exterior pathways and entrances," said Personette. "Making the campus more pedestrian-friendly is a major goal of the Master Plan, and that applies to everyone who walks or travels on our campus."