Friday, March 18, 2011

New York is Number One! (in ADA noncompliance)

New Yorkers are urged constantly to take mass transit. Unfortunately, if they are in a wheelchair chances are about four to one that subway rides are out of the question. Since the Americans with Disabilities Act has a rule that subway stations built before 1990 are exempt from the law unless they have a major renovation. So all those years under Giuliani and Bloomberg they had a simple solution - don't make major renovations. In the meantime, Boston made a long-term commitment to upgrading accessibility. About half of Chicago's subway stations have escalators and/or elevators. New York is holding down the rear. In the meantime, Bloomberg has been patting himself on the back for the great job he has done for New Yorkers. All of this just confirms my suspicion that this is a city with no real vision.

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