Disability access still lacking in Billings on 30-year anniversary of ADA

Jul. 27--On the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, downtown Billings is getting a major overhaul, which should help make sidewalks more accessible.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990 to address discrimination on the basis of disabilities in employment, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications, and local and state services.

Sunday marked the law's 30th anniversary, and Billings still has work to do to ensure that all public areas are accessible for people with disabilities. That includes sidewalks and intersections.

"We need to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act, but some of the progress has been incredibly slow," said Bernie Franks-Ongoy, executive director of Disability Rights Montana, an advocacy group.

Since September, downtown Billings has seen an overhaul of a 3-mile stretch of 27th Street, including updating 110 crosswalks along the stretch to meet ADA requirements.

Those updates include curb ramps, marked crosswalks and audible signals.

"That's pretty much every corner from the interstate to Airport Road," said Becky Bey, the public information officer for the state project. The project will also update crosswalk signals and asphalting, which are expected to be concluded this fall.

The Montana Department of Transportation is also eyeballing a similar project along Main Street that would update curbs and crosswalks from MetraPark to Wicks Lane, Bey said.

The improvements are welcome, but progress to updating infrastructure can be incredibly slow, Franks-Ongoy said.

Curb cuts, or a graded approach to sidewalks, are required on any new project, but infrastructure that predates the ADA may not be priorities for cities to update, said Emily Schuman, the deputy director of the Rocky Mountain ADA Center.

The Department of Justice has oversight over ADA compliance, but there is no real enforcement to ensure cities are updating projects. Often changes will happen only if someone levies a complaint against a city for a compliance failure, she said.

Other barriers to updating the now-30-year-old law include misconceptions of requirements or lack of resources and funding.

"Bigger towns might simply have more resources and funding to make projects happen sooner," Schuman said.

Even if sidewalks or bus stops are accessible, maintenance will often go neglected, she said.

"If you don't shovel them, and snow piles onto sidewalks or parking spaces, that creates a barrier for people with disabilities," Schuman noted.

Priorities

Many areas of Billings, especially places that predate the ADA, are still not accessible for people with disabilities. That includes streets that don't have paved sidewalks, or lack curb cuts and safe crosswalks for pedestrians, and there are many of those, said Chris Hertz, a staff engineer with the city. A missing sidewalk program identifies needs and installs ADA-compliant sidewalks in town.

In addition, each year the city works on an ADA project overhauling intersections and crosswalks to comply with guidelines.

This year the city is upgrading curbs from Division Street to Fourth Avenue North. Still, city work is slow, and many areas have yet to be updated, Hertz said.

"Our priority is high pedestrian areas and major streets," he said.

Improvements

Franks-Ongoy said another major need in Montana is accessible transportation.

Bus stops, routes and schedules often don't accommodate people with disabilities, and services like private taxis and ride shares don't have accessible vehicles.

"Accessible transportation really is your key to being able to go to school, work and have a social life," Franks-Ongoy said.

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