Attachment I: Modifications to Newly Constructed Facilities

 

Please Note: Paragraph 44 of the Settlement Agreement requires that within eighteen months of the effective date of this Agreement, the City will provide signage as necessary to comply with 28 C.F.R. ' 35.163(b), after having surveyed all facilities that are the subject of this Agreement for the purpose of identifying those that have multiple entrances not all of which are accessible.

 

In order to ensure that the following spaces and elements in City facilities, for which construction was commenced after January 26, 1992, are readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, the City will take the following actions:

 

Public Safety Complex - 325 Washington Street  Within three years of the effective date of this agreement, except where otherwise noted, the City will complete the following modifications to the Public Safety Complex:

 

A.                               Parking Garage and Front Parking Lot

 

1.                  The parking garage (459 parking spaces), and the front parking lot immediately in front of the Public Safety Complex (57 parking spaces), lack adequate numbers of spaces designated for people with disabilities and appropriate signage.  In the parking garage, on the shortest accessible route to the accessible entrance, provide 2 van accessible spaces and 7 standard spaces designated as reserved for people with disabilities.  In the front parking lot, provide 1 van accessible space and 2 standard spaces designated as reserved for people with disabilities.  Standard accessible spaces shall be a minimum of 96 inches wide and served by access aisles at least 60 inches wide.  Van accessible spaces shall be a minimum of 96 inches wide and served by access aisles at least 96 inches wide.  All spaces designated as reserved for people with disabilities shall have vertical signs with the International Symbol of Accessibility located such that they cannot be obstructed by parked vehicles.  Van accessible spaces shall have an additional AVan-Accessible@ sign located below the International Symbol of Accessibility.  Standards '' 4.1.2(5), 4.6, 4.30.7(1).

 

2.                  In the parking garage, the spaces reserved for persons with disabilities are inaccessible because the cross slope of the access aisle is not level.  Provide designated accessible parking spaces and access aisles that are flat and level, with slopes and cross-slopes not exceeding 1:50 in all directions, with surfaces that are firm, stable, and slip-resistant.  Standards '' 4.1.2(5), 4.3.6, 4.5.1, 4.6.3.            

 


3.                  The parking garage doorway is inaccessible because there is a 2 inch change in level at the threshold to the door.  Provide an accessible door with a threshold that is no greater than 3 inch, or is no greater than 2 inch and is beveled with a slope no greater than 1:2.  Standards '' 4.1.3(7)(a), 4.13.8, 4.5.2.

 

B.                 Telephone on Accessible Route

 

1.                  The telephone at the Public Safety Complex is inaccessible because it lacks signage.  Provide an accessible telephone with a clear floor space of at least 30 inches by 48 inches that allows either a forward or parallel approach by a person using a wheelchair such that bases, enclosures, and fixed seats do not impede approaches to the telephone; with the highest operable part of the telephone mounted no more than 48 inches above the floor for a front approach or no more than 54 inches above the floor for a side approach; that is hearing aid compatible and has a volume control mechanism; with telephone books, if provided, located between 15 and 48 inches above the finished floor for a front approach or between 9 and 54 inches above the finished floor for a side approach; with a cord of at least 29 inches long from the telephone to the handset; and with signage that complies with the Standards.  Standards '' 4.1.3(17), 4.31, 4.30.7(2).

 

C.                 Lobby Elevators

 

1.                  The two elevators at the Public Safety Complex are inaccessible because the doors close less than 5 seconds after notification and do not remain open for 20 seconds after reopening.  Provide doors that open and close automatically with a reopening device that will stop and reopen the car door and hoistway door automatically if the door becomes obstructed by an object or person.  Ensure that the device is capable of completing these operations without requiring contact for obstructions passing through the opening at heights of 5 inches and 29 inches above the finished floor; that door reopening devices remain effective for at least 20 seconds, after which the doors may close; that the minimum time from notification that a car is answering a call until the doors of that car start to close is 5 seconds; and that the minimum time for elevator doors to remain fully open in response to a car call is 3 seconds.  Standards '' 4.1.3(5), 4.10.6, 4.10.7, 4.10.8, Figs. 20, 21.

 


2.                  The left elevator at the Public Safety Complex is inaccessible because the emergency communication system does not work.  Provide a two-way communication system such that it does not require voice communication, the highest operable part is a maximum of 48 inches above the finished floor of the car, and it is identified by a raised symbol and lettering located adjacent to the device.  If the system uses a handset, ensure that the length of the cord from the panel to the handset is at least 29 inches.  If the system is located in a closed compartment, ensure that the compartment door hardware operates without tight grasping, pinching or twisting of the wrist.  Standards '' 4.1.3(5), 4.10.14.

 

D.                             Police Department Locker Rooms

 

1.                  The door on the employee-only Police Department men=s locker room is inaccessible because the pressure required to open the door is 15 pounds.  Provide a door that requires no more than 5 pounds of force to open.  Standards '' 4.1.3(7)(b), 4.13.11(2)(b).

 

2.                  The benches in the Men=s and Women=s Police Department locker rooms are not attached to the wall.  In each locker room, provide a 24 inch by 48 inch bench fixed to the wall along the bench=s longer dimension.  Ensure that the bench has sufficient structural strength and is mounted with its surface between 17 inches and 19 inches above the finished floor.  Provide clear floor space alongside the bench to allow a person using a wheelchair to make a parallel transfer onto the bench.  Standards '' 4.1.3(21), 4.35.4, 4.26.3.  

 

E.                              Municipal Court

 

1.                  The courtroom is inaccessible to people with hearing impairments because there is no assistive listening system.  Provide a permanently installed assistive listening system (ALS) or a portable ALS with an adequate number of electrical outlets or other supplementary wiring necessary to support a portable assistive listening system.  Also provide 2 receivers for use by the general public and signage indicating their availability.  28 C.F.R. 35.160; Standards '' 4.1.3(19)(b), 4.30, 4.33.

 

F.                  Drinking Fountains                                                                                    

 

1.                  The drinking fountains throughout the Public Safety Complex are inaccessible because the controls require more than 5 pounds to operate.  Provide a drinking fountain with controls mounted on or near the front edge that are operable with one hand, that require 5 lbf or less to operate, and that can be operated without tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist.  Standards '' 4.1.3(10), 4.15.4, 4.27.4.

 


G.                 Toilet Rooms with Stalls 1st Floor B Public and Police Department (Employee only)

 

1.                  The toilet room doors are inaccessible because the pressure required to open the doors is greater than 5 pounds.  For each toilet room, provide doors that require no more than 5 pounds of force to open.  Standards '' 4.1.3(7)(b), 4.13.11(2)(b).

 

2.                  The route to the toilet stall in the first floor public men=s room is inaccessible because the paper towel dispenser is a protruding object that would not be detectable to a blind person using a cane.  Provide an accessible route at this location such that no objects with their bottom edges measuring between 27 inches and 80 inches above the finished floor protrude more than 4 inches into walks, halls, corridors, passageways, or aisles.  Free-standing objects mounted on posts or pylons may overhang 12 inches maximum from 27 inches to 80 inches above the ground or finished floor.  Standards '' 4.1.2(3), 4.4.

 

H.                            Auditorium

 

1.                  There is no accessible route connecting the wheelchair seating areas and the stage because the rise to the stage is 4 2 inches.  Provide an accessible route connecting the wheelchair seating locations to all spaces used by performers.  Standards '' 4.1.3(19)(a), 4.3, 4.33.5.

 

2.                  The performances on the stage are inaccessible to people with hearing impairments because there is no assistive listening system.  Provide a permanently installed assistive listening system (ALS) or a portable ALS with an adequate number of electrical outlets or other supplementary wiring necessary to support a portable assistive listening system.  Also provide 4 receivers (4% of 105 total seats) for use by the general public and signage indicating their availability.  28 C.F.R. 35.160; Standards '' 4.1.3(19)(b), 4.30, 4.33.

 

I.                                Housing Court and Offices

 

1.                  The door in the courtroom is inaccessible because the pressure required to open the door exceeds 5 pounds.  Provide a door that requires no more than 5 pounds of force to open.  Standards '' 4.1.3(7)(b), 4.13.11(2)(b).