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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-DAC-2008-07-02DISABILITY ADVISORY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Regular Meeting 12:15 p.m. July 2, 2008 PRESENT: DAC Chair — Roberts DAC Vice Chair - Gizewski DAC Members: David McElrath, Kendrick Kemp, George Eberhardt, Otis Jackson OTHERS PRESENT: 211 Center — Ed Swayze City Chamberlain — Debra Parsons Neighborhood and Historic Preservation Planner — Leslie Chatterton Assistant Civil Engineer — Lynne Yost City Clerk — Julie Conley Holcomb APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Approval of the May 7, 2008 and June 4, 2008 Regular Disability Advisory Council Minutes - Resolution There was not a quorum present so the minutes could not be approved. Overview of the Handicap Parking Ticket Process City Chamberlain Parsons reported that she reviewed the ticket history for handicap parking violations from 2000 — 2008. The average number of tickets issued per year is between 200 -300, with 2007 having the highest number of violations. She noted that 83 tickets have been issued to date in 2008. Although she did not know how many tickets were dismissed each year, or why, she noted that the main reason that tickets are dismissed is because people forget to place their permits on the mirror. She noted that she did not feel that very many tickets were dismissed if it was legitimately issued, however it is possible that fines are reduced for various reasons such as the signage was hard to see, etc. City Chamberlain Parsons reported that the tickets issued resulted in $113,900 in fines being assessed in addition to $11,000 in late penalties and $35,000 in court surcharges. Of that $159,900, $92,900 was collected and $67,000 was dismissed. City Chamberlain Parson's agreed to research how many of the tickets issued were for repeat offenders. Vice Chair Gizewski noted that he no longer does much business in the City of Ithaca as there is a shortage of van accessible parking spaces. He noted that the handicap parking spaces at Tops and Wegmans are usually full however Walmart appears to have plenty of spaces. July 2, 2008 City Chamberlain Parsons explained that the parking lots are mainly patrolled /enforced by the Ithaca Police Department and Ithaca Fire Department and on- street parking is mainly enforced by the Community Service Officers. DAC member Jackson reported that the Ithaca Fire Department issued 94 tickets in 2007 for handicap parking violations (all written by him) but noted that this was not his primary duty for the Fire Department. City Chamberlain Parsons stated that she believes that the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law mandates the range of parking fines for handicap parking violations. She stated that she supports increasing the fines as a deterrent to breaking the law. Chair Roberts suggested that the DAC review the section of law that defines the fines and make a recommendation to the City. Vice Chair Gizewski offered to research what other municipalities are charging and how effective the fine amounts have been to deterring violations. City Chamberlain Parsons offered to return to the August DAC meeting to report on how many tickets are dismissed; how many tickets are repeat offenses; what NYS V& T law says about fine structures; invite Officer Randy Sterling to the meeting to discuss his experiences in reviewing tickets and appeals; speak with Acting Police Chief Vallely to see if the Community Service Officer who has a vehicle could pass through the larger parking lots to enforce the handicap parking laws. City of Ithaca Sidewalk Program Assistant Civil Engineer Lynne Yost provided an overview of the city's sidewalk program. There are 4,500 properties in the city with sidewalks that equals approximately 78 miles of sidewalk. She explained that the city is recovering from having 4 years without a sidewalk program and the sidewalk crew has identified 540 problem sidewalks. AC Enginner Yost stated that the goals of the sidewalk program include: *effectively manage repair dollars *minimize injuries on faulty sidewalks *improve accessibility *provide an alternative to vehicular use The City of Ithaca has one of the highest percentages of pedestrians in cities of similar size across the country. Chair Roberts noted that pedestrians with disabilities face additional challenges, and that many scooter users are opting to ride in the street instead of the sidewalks because they are too bumpy and there are crosswalk issues. AC Engineer Yost explained that ramp construction is more complex and expensive than it used to be, it nearly requires the rebuilding of entire intersection to get the ramps 61 July 2, 2008 aligned correctly. She stated that sidewalks should be inspected when the ramps are inspected so that any needed work can be done at that same time. She noted that some of the issues that still need to be resolved are: Who is responsible for repairing tree root damage / who accepts responsibility for work that is not completed? Slate and stone sidewalks are historic but the city does not do that type of repair work She noted that the life span of a concrete sidewalk is 20 -30 years and that 1 square of sidewalk costs $337 to install. The new sidewalk construction project is being led by Transportation Engineer Tim Logue as it was a capital project request that includes installing sidewalks in 5 locations throughout the city. A committee will be appointed to discuss the prioritization of the locations. Chair Roberts noted that he would contact Transportation Engineer Logue regarding the DAC's participation in this project. Traffic Diverters This item was referred to the August 6, 2008 meeting. Mr. Swayze left the meeting at 1:30 pm. Updates: Map - this report was deferred to the August meeting. AC Engineer Yost noted that data collection is continuing on this project and she is eager to show the map to the DAC. Accessible America Chair Roberts reported that this item would be discussed at the August 26, 2008 Senior Staff meeting to solicit the support from the city's leadership team for the application. Handicapped Parking Program Chair Roberts reported that he received an e -mail from Tompkins County Public Information Officer Marcia Lynch regarding finding a possible meeting date for the sub- committee members. City ADA Compliance Neighborhood and Historic Preservation Planner Chatterton reported that she is hiring interns to work on this issue and will report out at the August meeting. Ithaca Festival DAC member Eberhardt reported that he attended one of the music venues after attending a picnic in that large pavilion in the park. He noted that it was a long walk from one end of the park to the other and it would have been helpful if golf cart shuttles '43 July 2, 2008 were available to assist people with disabilities in accessing the different venues around the park. He further voiced his disappointment that no seating was available for the music venues and it posed a challenge for him. A suggestion was made that perhaps one of the vendors could be a wheelchair or scooter company that would provide demonstrations and /or rentals. Chair Roberts noted that pursuant to a conversation with the Festival Director, the Festival was willing to pay for ASL interpreters but was looking for volunteers. No one present at the meeting happened to see any ASL interpreters throughout the Festival. ADJOURNMENT: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m. Julie Conley Holcomb, CIVIC Larry Roberts City Clerk Chair, DAC Il