MEMO TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Mayor John Marchione
SUBJECT:
title
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan for Parks and Recreation
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation
Brief the City Council on current conditions and ask for feedback on priorities and approach.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Mellody Matthes Human Resources Director 425-556-2122
Rachel Van Winkle Interim Director Parks and Recreation 425-556-2334
Carolyn Hope Park Planning & Cultural Arts Manager 425-556-2313
Jeff Aken Senior Park Planner 425-556-2328
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
ADA Background
The U.S. Congress signed the ADA in 1990 and it went into effect in 1992. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in access to jobs, public accommodations, government services and programs, public transportation, and telecommunications.
Title II of the ADA adopts the general prohibitions against discrimination contained in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, but applies to all state and local governments, regardless of if they receive federal funding. It prohibits the City from denying persons with disabilities the equal opportunity to participate in its services, programs, or activities, either directly or indirectly through contractual arrangements.
Project Background
The Parks and Recreation Department contracted with WT Consultants to conduct access audits of all 47 parks and 39 miles of trails to develop a transition plan for Redmond’s parks and trails per Title II of the 1990 American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA). This work includes:
• Access Audits with a site report for each park facility including descriptions of the specific barriers at each location
• A Transition Plan that will:
o Identify physical obstacles in the public entity’s facilities that limit the accessibility of programs or activities to individuals with disabilities.
o Prioritize a list of improvement projects and the methods that can be used to make the facilities accessible.
o Project cost estimates for each of the project recommendations.
• Project Database and mapping to facilitate ongoing monitoring and project implementation
• Public outreach and stakeholder engagement.
o A stakeholder advisory committee was formed in June of 2018. The stakeholder group represents broad array of community members. Included were community members with visual disabilities, mobility issues, caregivers, and parents of people with developmental disabilities. This group has met three times and has discussed areas of concern, access audits, and transition plan priorities. In addition, staff conducted outreach with Lighthouse for the Blind and peer jurisdictions on improving access. At their next meeting, the Stakeholder Group will review the findings of the draft transition plan.
o Public outreach is planned with multiple ways to participate:
o September 12-21 an online poll at www.redmond.gov/ada
o September 12 at 6:30pm for an open house public meeting at City Hall
o September 18 and 20th from 10:30am-12:00pm for drop-in sessions at the Redmond Senior Center
Initial Findings
o Access audits took place over a two-week period in May and June of 2018 and included 47 parks and 39 miles of trails.
o The consultant team identified approximately 14,600 features
o Approximately 13,300 of those features were compliant, and
o 1,330 access deficits were identified.
o Common issues include the following:
o Exterior accessible routes connecting park assets were identified as a deficit at nearly every site.
o Maintenance of accessible assets to ensure access. An example of this is the engineered wood fiber used in playground surfaces; this must be frequently maintained to meet accessibility standards.
o Lack of compliant accessible parking at park sites with parking lots.
o Trails were frequently noted as deficits due to running slope, cross slope, trail tread surface, and width or protruding objects.
o Program Access
o The recommended approach for compliancy with ADA is to ensure that a minimum of one out of three recurring sites (e.g.; playgrounds) be accessible and all unique sites (e.g; Skate Park) be accessible. This work would be accomplished within a 9 to 11year timeframe. Based on our inventory this would include accessibility at an additional:
o 5 playgrounds
o 7 trails
o 3 tennis courts
o 6 ballfields
o 3 picnic areas/shelters
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
Staff has briefed the Parks and Human Services Committee on:
• January 2, 2018
• March 6, 2018
• April 3, 2018
• July 3, 2018
Staff has briefed Parks and Trails Commission three times. Additionally, the stakeholder group includes members of the Parks and Trails Commission and Senior Advisory Committee.
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
Adoption of this plan will take the City a step closer to complying with the ADA. Implementation of this plan will ultimately lead to improvements in the City’s ability to serve people with disabilities.
B. Fiscal Note:
There are no fiscal impacts at this time. Funding requests are proposed in the 2019-2020 budget to support initial project and program recommendations in this plan.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
None at this time.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
Staff is seeking feedback from the City Council before the public engagement on project prioritization criteria this week.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
None