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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-DAC-2015-08-05Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes August 5, 2015 Present: Chair Roberts DAC Members: Rappaport Brock Scriber Dragovich Sember-Chase Others Present: Information Mgt. Specialist – Myers Director of Parking – Nagy Director of Planning, Bldg, Zoning & Economic Dev. – Cornish Sr. Planner – Kusznir Commons Project Manager – Kuo Guest (Accessible Parking Concerns) – Pat Pryor Introductions: Chair Roberts and everyone made introductions to one another. Approval of Minutes: Approval of the April 8, 2015 and June 3, 2015 Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes - Resolution By DAC Member Rappaport: Seconded by DAC Member Scriber RESOLVED, That the minutes of the April 8, 2015 and June 3, 2015 Disability Advisory Council meetings be approved as published. Carried Unanimously Discussion Regarding the New Park and Pay Stations and Accessible Parking Spaces with Director of Parking Nagy and Pat Pryor Director of Parking Nagy and Ms. Pryor joined the Council for discussion of the above concerns. Ms. Pryor explained her mobility issues, and she stated that she has a accessible parking permit. She expressed her concerns about the new park and pay stations and lack of accessible parking. She explained that her doctor is on North Aurora Street, there is an accessible parking space there, but now patients need to walk about a block to get to the pay station to pay, and then walk back to the doctor’s office. She stated that if the weather is good, it isn’t so bad; however, she is concerned about navigating to the park and pay station in a downpour or during the winter. She shared that other patients of the same doctor have expressed the same concerns to her. She further noted that there are lots of blocks in the City of Ithaca with similar issues. She reported that she called Parking Director Nagy to express her concerns, and he met right away with her to discuss them. She stated that it was explained to her that there has been an effort by the City to place pay stations as close to accessible parking spaces as possible. The pay stations run on solar power and, in some areas, due to shade, the stations can't be placed near the accessible parking spaces. She explained that she was told that there are plans in place to leave the parking meters at the accessible parking spaces for now, and she would like that. However, she noted, the City of Ithaca has a history of not providing enough accessible parking spaces in the downtown area. She appreciates the city's responsiveness to her Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes August 5, 2015 2 concerns, and the plans to keep the parking meters in place at the accessible parking spaces. She encouraged the City to consider providing more accessible parking spaces, not only for locals, but for visitors. Tourism is a major industry in Tompkins County, which we love and want to encourage, so we should make sure there are enough accessible parking spaces for visitors to make their trip as enjoyable as possible. Ms. Pryor shared some information with DAC members, as a result of some research she did, to see what other cities do in similar situations regarding accessible parking with the use of the pay stations. She stated that there aren’t many municipalities in New York State that use the pay stations, so she had to look at areas outside of the State. There were many different ways that cities dealt with accessible parking, and payment of parking fees. She thanked the Council for allowing her to come to the meeting and share with them. She also reported that when she parked at the surface lot of the Green Street parking garage recently, she had to go to the pay station, make the payment, and take the receipt back to her car to display on the windshield. It would be nice of those pay stations could be like the other ones around the city. Director of Parking Nagy explained that he met with Ms. Pryor who came to him to express concerns about the pay stations and accessible parking locations. This was on day seven of the new parking program and use of the pay stations. He stated that the City had already received similar complaints by that time, and he had come to the conclusion that meters should remain at those spaces in order to continue to make them accessible. This would keep people from having to walk so far to pay for parking. He noted that North Aurora Street is a challenging location for placement of pay stations which are solar powered due to the number of trees near the accessible parking spaces, and the amount of shade they provide over the street. He stated that block has two accessible parking spaces; one of the spaces has a meter and the other one has a accessible parking sign. As soon as DPW crews aren’t so busy with road projects, he will have them replace the meter post there so another meter head can be installed to create the second accessible parking space on that block. Director of Parking Nagy further reported that he has received a lot of phone calls regarding the placement of the pay stations on the 200 block of North Cayuga Street. He stated that with trees on both sides of the street, the pay station was placed on the corner of North Cayuga and East Seneca Street in order to receive the most sunlight. He stated that additional signage has been ordered which will help direct people to the pay station. He would love to put more meters out in these situations, but he does not like the concept of people crossing the street to get to a meter. That would be an additional cost; which the City is not able to afford right now. That being said, the pay stations have been successful with more than 1,000 people using them in the first two weeks, there is 15% increase in parking revenue, and people are happy to be able to use credit cards to pay for parking, which they have been wanting for a long time. In general, people have been finding the pay stations are helpful; 90% of the people like them, 10% don't and they are the most vocal in their complaints about them to him. Chair Roberts responded that leaving meter heads at designated spaces could be a solution to the concerns that have been raised. Although, part of the problem with meter heads is that some people with manual dexterity problems have trouble using them. For those people who do have severe physical limitations, New York State has a process for them to apply for a waiver of paying the meter through the municipal clerk with a doctor’s order. They are then issued a placard that can be placed on the wind shield that enforcement officers can see. He further noted that due to the other item on the agenda today, he is not sure the DAC will have time to discuss what kind of solution they would recommend in response to the concerns that have been raised. He is happy Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes August 5, 2015 3 about the prompt response from the City that Ms. Pryor received when she brought her concerns to Director of Parking Nagy. DAC Member Dragovich asked whether other people were having trouble finding the pay stations. DAC Member Rappaport responded, yes, and depending on mobility issues it could be a long walk, and in the snow it would be difficult. He asked whether people with smart phones can use the accessible spots. Director of Parking Nagy responded that Park Mobile should be providing that application for smart phones by August 15th. People can call them to set up their account with Park Mobile for that program, and after the 15th should be able to go online to set up the account. DAC Member Rappaport stated that the City is doing a horrible disservice to the public on where the pay stations are shown on the map, which Director of Parking Nagy distributed which shows the location of pay stations around the City, because accessible parking spaces are not shown on it, and the word “handicapped” should be changed to the word “accessible”. In addition, the parking garages aren't indicated on the map either. Common Council Liaison Brock expressed her thanks to Ms. Pryor and Director of Parking Nagy for coming to the meeting to discuss the new park and pay stations and accessible parking concerns related to the location of pay stations. She stated that the Board of Public Works would be the body that would look at approving the purchasing of additional pay stations for the City. She encouraged anyone who might want to see the number of accessible parking spaces in the City increased to bring those concerns to the Board’s attention. She does believe, in this instance, that replacing the meter on North Aurora Street and the online payment capability through Park Mobile to set up an account from which to pay for parking, will be helpful. She also noted that it was an interesting point made by Ms. Pryor regarding the existing pay station located at the surface lot of the Green Street Parking garage, and the need to replace it with the new pay stations so you don’t have to pay at the station, take a receipt, and go back to your vehicle to display it on the windshield. Director of Parking Nagy responded that he would love to replace the two pay stations at the surface lot of the Green Street parking garage – if he had the funds to do so. Discussion followed on the floor regarding the need for more publicity and education on how to use the pay machines, the upcoming Park Mobile app, in a way that everyone will find it helpful. Director of Parking Nagy stated that he has been working with City Clerk Holcomb to develop a short video demonstration on the use of the pay stations which should be on the City’s website soon. He is also working on a step-by-step presentation to further help educate everyone on the use of the new pay stations. With time, things will get better, and he is happy with the initial response and use of the machines, as well as the comments for and against the use of them. Chair Roberts responded that the next step would be for the DAC to discuss this item at their next meeting, and make a recommendation to Director of Parking Nagy. Right now, meter heads sound like a reasonable solution, but he knows there are probably other options to consider as well. He is not a fan of people not paying for parking because of accessibility issues. This item will be placed on the agenda for the September 2, 2015 DAC meeting. Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes August 5, 2015 4 DAC Member Sember-Chase voiced her opinion that she was not necessarily in support of automatically saying people with disabilities should always pay for parking because if it turns out that the only options for paying are in fact inaccessible or not of equal opportunity to people with disabilities as to those who are not disabled, then she believes that the City's only alternative, in order to not be perceived as discriminatory against people with disabilities, may be to allow for free parking. So she didn't want to automatically rule that option out. Discussion Regarding New Playground on the Commons and Accessibility Concerns Director of Planning, Bldg, Zoning & Economic Dev. – Cornish, Sr. Planner – Kusznir, and Commons Project Manager – Kuo joined the Council for discussion of this topic. Chair Roberts invited them to speak to the concerns that have been raised about the playground first, and then the public could share their concerns with the DAC. Mr. Kuo explained that he, Ms. Cornish, and Ms. Kusznir have had different roles through the Commons Reconstruction Project. His role is to manage the construction process from start to end. He handed out a playground summary generated by the designer of the playground - “Play-by-Design”. He explained the project was competitively bid out, and the City received 6-7 proposals. That is because Ithaca has a lot of the best playground designers in the country living here. The designer of playground has been in constant communication with Mr. Kuo regarding the concerns that have been raised concerning accessibility, and had planned to attend the DAC meeting today. The goal of the project was to replace the play structure and provide a tower/slide feature, as well as certain other features. Mr. Kuo explained that construction of the playground was completed in June 2015, after final pavers were installed, so that the safety surface underneath the playground would be neat and flush with the surrounding walking surface. He further stated that out of the 8 playground elements constructed; only 4 were required to be accessible – the designer included 5. (The summary of the playground design which was distributed will be attached to the minutes). In addition, the space is small so options for the playground were limited. In addition, there was a 6' buffer required as a “fall zone”, and the width was limited in order to maintain the required fire lane width. Chair Roberts responded that part of the reason for the concerns that have been raised, why was that particular space chosen if there were such constraints on it. He is pleased they designed and included 5 accessible features in the play structure, but it has been reported that the features aren’t accessible and a big disappointment to the public. Ms. Kusznir stated that, initially, designers said they couldn't do a play structure in that location due its small size, required 6’ fall zone, and the need to maintain the fire lane. Other play elements were supposed to be added elsewhere and be accessible, but weren’t. DAC Member Scriber stated that a lot of people build playgrounds around the Ithaca area. There is a playground being designed at Stewart Park. It is being planned to have accessible features; it has not been built yet; they are just raising the money for it now. This playground will have a lot of accessible features, as a result of talking to experts in the field, regarding children with accessibility needs. They can provide input as to what kind of playground equipment should be included in the design and construction of playground prior to being built. Did the City of Ithaca think to ask the local experts in the Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes August 5, 2015 5 field of working with children who have special needs on the design of the play structure on the Commons before awarding the contract and proceeding with the construction of it? Ms. Cornish and Ms. Kusznir responded no, they had not consulted with experts in the field prior to awarding the contract, and trusted that the designer would follow the required guidelines for accessible play structures. Chair Roberts asked the members of the public who were at the meeting regarding this topic to come forward to address the Council. They included a mom and dad and the cutest little girl in a wheelchair. They explained that when they saw that the new playground was completed, open and supposed to be accessible for all children, they rushed down to it. However, they were very disappointed once they saw the play structures. There is a step up to every part of it; nothing that a child might wheel up to and access. They stated that the structure is designed in a way that expects children could pull themselves up by their arms to access. They stated that a child with disabilities cannot and should not be expected to pull themselves up to play on the structure with their upper body. There is a spinning ball, but a child with accessibility issues can't sit and spin on it with any balance, and it is not fair to expect that they could. They would suggested a ramp up into playhouse which would allow a child in a wheelchair to get in on their own. They also suggested the installation of perhaps a steering wheel, and a ramp up onto the black bridge - instead of a step - on both sides. To say that the playground is ADA compliant and announce that to the public is not true, and it is a huge disappointment to both children and parents when they see it. Mr. Kuo responded that he would be very open to suggestions for ways to improve the playground. He also noted that there is no better way to communicate concerns than to have parents with children who have special needs provide input on ways it might be improved. He is open to the suggested changes proposed today. Chair Roberts stated that he doesn't know if “Play by Design” designed other accessible playgrounds, but it has been his experience that it is pretty intuitive what parts are accessible, and when he saw this playground it is not intuitively obvious that parts of it are accessible and how a child would interact on it. He understands now how it meets ADA requirements, but they assume a child has the upper body strength and wants to get out of his or her mobility device to play on the structures. DAC Member Sember-Chase stated that she would like to circle back to DAC Member Scriber’s question about the design of the playground. She stated that she knew there was also an accessible inclusive playground effort in progress at Stewart Park, and since its' the same designers that did Commons playground, did the City need to be concerned that the Stewart Park playground will also have access issues? DAC Member Scriber responded that she works at the Racker Center, and knows that parents and staff that have been involved in the design of the playground at Stewart Park. It sounds like no one from the City even thought to reach out to the Racker Center staff and parents to provide input into the design of the playground. She noted that it is tricky because things can be ADA compliant but not work for kids. She further noted that she visited the Commons this past Saturday to watch the kids play, and found that the metal slide was hotter than hot since there is no shade there, so there is the potential for children to be burned on it. She is happy to hear that the design work will be reviewed - but would encourage the City to include people who actually work with children with disabilities in the future on projects of this type. Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes August 5, 2015 6 Mr. Kuo responded that the City did put its trust in the design company to meet the ADA requirements, and provide an accessible playground, and because of time constraints for construction of it, we have what we have for a playground on the Commons. DAC Member Scriber asked what could be done to make changes to the structures because of the time and size constraints for the area, including design plans for kids with autism. She stated that there would be therapists at the Racker Center who would be happy to provide input – if asked. It was noted that the City should visit the playground at Caroline Elementary School which is really accessible for all children, and includes musical balls and other special features for all children. The playground at the Racker Center has a musical feature so she also invited staff and Mr. Kuo to visit the Racker Center playground. CC Liaison Brock stated that she appreciated all the comments, including identifying the inclusion of sensory play things in a playground. She wondered if the playground area could be extended one way or the other and not interfere with accessibility; she realizes it would come with additional costs. She also thought there would be play stations throughout the Commons as well, so she was surprised that those were eliminated. She would be interested in what limitations there are to making changes. She agreed that metal features in both summer and winter can be dangerous, and seem inappropriate the climate in Upstate New York. She believes there is a lot of room for improvement with the playground Mr. Kuo responded that with respect to play elements outside of the playground area that there are flora and fauna prints, animal tracks and leaf prints that are scattered around and throughout the Commons that are intended to be a little riddle for children to follow to find the answer. He further noted that if the playground were expanded to the north, it would be in the emergency access fire lane, to the east there is a trench, and to the west some and then the fire land begins to taper around the playground, and there would be no way to keep the required 6' fall zone. So, the options are really limited to just working with the designer to see what changes can be made, if any to what’s there. Chair Roberts noted that there are plenty of people who would like to be part of this discussion. He requested that the City make sure that as many people who are experts in the field of designing accessible playgrounds are included as possible in those meetings and discussions. Ms. Cornish stated that the contract requirements for the designer have been met. Any changes could be made as an addendum to the contract over the winter, and then move forward with implementing the changes next Spring. This will be at an additional cost to the City as well, which will need to be discussed to see where additional funding might be found. Chair Roberts noted that it seems pretty clear that members of the DAC and the public are very dissatisfied with the final design of the playground right now. There are a lot of things that will need to be done to make it accessible for all children. Everyone here seems to agree that something needs to be done, and the playground can’t be left as is. He will talk with Ms. Cornish about putting a committee together that would include members of the public with experience in designing accessible playgrounds as well as members of the DAC that might be interested in providing input. Disability Advisory Council Meeting Minutes August 5, 2015 7 Next Agenda Items (not a complete list): 1. Discuss pay stations related to accessible parking concerns in order to make possible recommendations to Director of Parking Nagy on possible changes. It would be good to find out from other areas with similar pay stations how they handle accessible parking. 2. Discussion of continuity of DAC meetings in the absence of the Chair, goals, objectives of the DAC. Adjournment: On a motion the meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m. ____________________________________ _______________________________ Sarah Myers, Information Mgt. Specialist Larry Roberts, DAC Chair + prjJ.\ili bvdesrgn rLAY DY DEgIGN 5/7 Bosrwick Road llrhaca, NY 14850 507'229-9190 playbydesignonline.com Playground Summary Final Design - lthaca Commons Play Structure - lthaca, NY Our design for the lthaca Commons Play Structure meets the ADA accessibility requirements for public play structures. The limited area allocated for the playground does limit the design options. There are eight elevated components (slide, drag ramp, bouncy bridge, step ladder, letter blocks, rock wall, and playhouse). Based on the Access Board definition of an accessible elevated component, five are accessible (slide, drag ramp, step ladder, rock wall, and playhouse). Based on there being 8 elevated components, ADA playground standards require 4 to be accessible. Two ADA compliant transfer platforms provide access to elevated featu res. There are three accessible ground level play elements (spinning sphere, abacus, and mushrooms). ADA standards require 3.