Fifteen Years of Americans with Disabilities Act

Many buildings around the Hub are grandfathered, but those with new construction must comply with the American with Disabilities Act. The Act, signed fifteen years ago today by President Bush the elder, requires new and public facilities to be accessible by disabled persons. After spending a couple months in a wheelchair following a car accident, Bostonist became aware of all the challenges to getting that around people with disabilities face day in and day out, for a lifetime. At the Ruggles T station on Sunday, entering from the Northeast side, the orange construction fencing was still up in the lobby and the elevator was still out of service, as was the escalator. The escalator is up and running today, but there are 23 other escalators and elevators that are reported not to be working today. The Boston Globe reports today that a rally at 3 p.m. in the Park Street station will distribute reports about the T’s failure to live up to the commitment made to better the service of the accessible stations. The report cites the 20 percent of escalators and elevators out of service, which far exceeds the 3 percent maximum the MBTA had previously promised. The 23 of 310 elevators and escalators out of service still makes over 7 percent by Bostonist's math. More than double the amount deemed "acceptable" by the MBTA.

In other ADA related news this week, Peter Pan is going after buses that make the trek from Boston to New York each day. Peter Pan has filed suit against Apex in New York hoping to bar them access to the Boston/NYC route market. The Boston Herald was on the scene when Christine Griffin, director of the Disability Law Center tried to buy a ticket to take the Fung Wah bus, in a wheelchair. The Fung Wah denied service to Griffin but made statements later that they do have an accessible bus, but it wasn’t in service. Peter Pan is taking a commendable action by standing up for disabled people's rights, but it seems to be more in the name of competition than in good faith. But Bostonist is only making assumptions, after the parking tickets started being issued for the busses loading in Boston’s Chinatown coupled with a successful $10 ride the Fung Wah and Lucky Star were forced into higher rates (more comparable to Greyhound/Peter Pan) inside South Station.