TriMet said the new leaners were installed to meet the criteria of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal law that requires allowances be made for people with disabilities. The old benches were by law too wide for sidewalks, TriMet wrote in the announcement, and people with mobility devices couldn’t get by.
“The shallower leaner allows for installation in areas where sidewalks are not wide enough to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards and accommodate a traditional bench.
The ADA isn’t some capricious law to bankrupt property and business owners— it was passed in 1990 to prevent discrimination against people with disabilities. This includes transportation, and what is required by law to accommodate people with disabilities is clear.
Here’s the link to the Department of Transportation regulations concerning the width of sidewalks to allow for mobility devices, and a screenshot of the relevant statute:
Maybe there are other statutes that led to the changes. I’ve asked TriMet which specific ADA regulations were the reason for the new leaners, as well as how many of the previous benches were actually in violation of the law. The question form I filled out on TriMet’s website said I would receive a response within 5 business days. Today, it’s been 6 days since my request.
Original Post is HERE
6 comments:
This is much ado about nothing:
1) This post states that the leaners are only used in 10% of locations.
2) Yes it is about advertising. The old benches were paid for by Lamar as well, and the new benches are much nicer than the old ones.
3) In many places there's a leaner where there was *nothing* before.
4) Both new benches + leaners prevent sleepers; so a leaner doesn't help to discourage sleepers any more than a bench.
5) This person needs to go get a tape measure and find a location with a leaner where a bench *would* be practical. At that point *THEN* they'd have something to say -- but so far it's just a bunch of FUD.
I don't believe Trimet here either. If there is no Ada complaint there is no violation. I bet there has never been even one complaint about a bench blocking a sidewalk nor does that probably even qualify as an ADA issue. Sidewalks are blocked all over this city for all sorts of reasons beyond bus stop benched
Taking away a place to sit for a place to lean seems like a clear ADA violation to me.
ADA doesn't say you deserve a bench (or a pony) - sorry, life just isn't fair. Also just because nobody is sueing you doesn't mean you don't need to follow the law.
Again - if you want to make a point go get a tape measure and cite a spot where a bench would fit but there's a leaner instead.
Trimet sold their souls to Lamar, ADA has nothing to do with it.
Yeah that happened a long time ago. It's a revenue source for trimet...and a source of free benches.
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