Civic Center Parking Garage & Accessibility Issues

Parking ramps with 501-1000 spaces requires 2% handicapped including van accessible spaces. This is an incomplete part of my disability rights activism that had to pause when my MS and other health problems prevented me from finishing. But I will.

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My understanding is that the #6 ramp is going to have 600 spaces, so ADA  minimum at 2% would be 18, so 20 would be good enough (minimally).

 

The spaces are supposed to be scattered around the area served near the accessible entrances. The shortest possible route is the rule for accessible entrances related to building(s) that the parking area serves.

 

My question would be: if only a portion of the spaces are going to be for the public, should the ramp have 2% of the public spaces accessible. The answer, in my opinion, better be yes.

 

Similarly, since the assumption is that people who are coming here are medical tourists, it might be that there will be more than average people who are unable to walk far, use walking aids, and so require more than the minimum % on the hotel parking spots claimed.

 

This is an ongoing blindspot (no pun intended) of all things parking in Rochester: we have higher than average population and visitors who have health issues that required MORE than minimal ADA parking to meet the needs of all the people.

 

The other concern I would have is that the doors have the buttons or similar method to allow people with issues to get the doors open. The Civic Center lot, for example, does not have the buttons on the Civic Center side elevator. This is a PROBLEM!!!

 

And for whatever reason the fools that designed the Civic Center ramp had a chance to do a no lip entrance to the skyway / elevators on either end and did not.

 

Instead, they put in an unacceptable ramp to the door with no railing, and the door is very heavy. It would not be possible for me to be in a wheelchair and open the door. I would be afraid of rolling backwards off the edge of the ramp’s high curb in front of the door. I also could not push the door open (or even reach it) from a wheelchair. It is awkward already with my walker.

 

The signage in Civic Center ramp is beyond nothing. There is no way to know once you are in the ramp (a) if and where the handicapped spots are much less a van accessible spot. (b) The floors are not labeled with numbers so it’s hard to know what floor you are on if you find a spot on the east side (Civic Center side), and (c) you cannot tell that there is even an elevator there!

 

Tony and other people know of my concerns, and I have said repeatedly that they could ask me my opinions on what they are doing as far as parking accessibility goes. I am not the only one in town who could do so. An even better person works at SEMNCIL (Southeast MN Center for Independent Liiving) and has been asked before and advised from a professional position rather than my “user” perspective.

 

It should be mandatory for an actual person with mobility disabilities to review all city building plans. Otherwise, we will only get minimums and close enough for government work accessible anything.

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Whimsical Designs for outdoor furniture

ACCESSIBILITY ELIMINATED to our Public Library

Leadership of Rochester, MN, continues to ignore all requests for the ADA law requirements to be honored and implemented in all things related to city government.

PLEASE PHONE AND EMAIL YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS / MAYOR and demand the return of the dedicated handicapped parking in front of the ROCHESTER PUBLIC LIBRARY on 2St. SE. 

I have been advocating for accessibility in all aspects of life here in Rochester when living with disabilities. Alas, I have been ignored, dismissed, and disregarded while the ALL ABLE-BODIED MEN in charge proceed to do whatever they damn well please.

Recently, the unacceptable illegal elimination of the two dedicated — wheelchair accessible — handicapped parking in from the Rochester Public Library proceeded despite my increasingly distressed protests that the City COULD NOT LEGALLY ELIMINATE THE DEDICATED HANDICAPPED PARKING and the other three spaces, in front of the Public Library because of construction.

This is flat out illegal.

In April, I provide copies of the law to various council members and the new mayor in an effort to forestall this intention to utterly disregard the ADA law and proceed to eliminate all #ACCESSIBILITY to the public library.

Dedicated Handicapped Street Parking Locations

Thanks to Richard Freese, in response to my direct request to him after a city council meeting in June, he provided much needed documentation of dedicated handicapped parking in Rochester, MN.

The following link maps all of meters including on-street HC spaces. It does not include the ramps or private spaces.

http://www.rochestermn.gov/departments/public-parking/on-street-parking-meters 

Then click on Downtown Metered Parking Map.  Next select a block and scroll to see handicap parking spaces. 

History Forgotten but it Really Happened

I asked a group of people recently if they remembered when Nixon implemented price freezes and was shocked when no one seemed to remember. Maybe I am older than the people in the room were, but I thought I’d check my memory. Sure enough, President Richard Nixon did order a variety of freezes in 1971 “to cut inflation” was why he did it according to something else I read.

This came to my mind while discussing rent control or rent stabilization laws. Note, Minnesota State law preemptively precludes rent control or stabilization — for now. This is an issue that needs to be reconsidered since it, in effect, holds tenants hostage, some might say, by — in effect, extortion — since the cost and hassle of having to move, combined with the lack of availability of rental units, and the general price fixing known by some as “The Invisible Hand” of the marketplace, conspire to make tenants resigned to endless rent increases because all rental housing is unregulated and inherently exploitive of tenants at many levels.

Search for the phrasing shown in the two screen shots of the text below:

 

 

Project Community Connect January 26, 2018

Sorry about the short notice, but please share with people who would be interested in this event. NOTE: FREE CITY BUS RIDE – JUST TELL THEM YOU ARE GOING TO PROJECT COMMUNITY CONNECT!

 

 

Minnesota State Law Preemptively Prohibits Rent Control or Stabilization

Lobbyists for industry organizations are pretty much the equivalent of the Mafia with $$$$ as weapons. In the case of the great state of Minnesota they have done their work well implementing a state law that protects their racketeering and extortion for rental units.

THE REAL TAKERS

Some justify this as based on the Constitutional “takings” clause that mainly refers to things like eminent domain for building roads and such like, but enterprising lawyers have taken it to the extreme and try to pretend that by implementing rent control, rent stabilization, or rental caps tied to the consumer price index, the “state” is “taking” money out of their profitable pockets.

However, the fact that they can arbitrarily RAISE RENTS WITHOUT ANY LIMITATIONS  when the city is  experiencing a crisis in affordable [and of course, virtually zero affordable ACCESSIBLE housing] the suffering is too great to ignore this disparate impact such a protectionist law for the people with money and power have.

Walkability and Women

DANGEROUS WALKING

A recent Guardian article noted that WOMEN walk measurably less than men and called attention to women’s reasonable fears when walking on city streets.

The CAT CALLING viral Facebook posts have established the reality of the hostility women face simply trying to walk own the city. While some die hard “boys will be boys” types still insist cat calling is complimentary or innocent of actual menace, women know that is not true.

Some design aspects of WALKABILITY might result in less of an urban jungle ambience and thereby discourage bad behavior. However no overt consideration of women’s safety can be seen in DMC urban design plans. Or the Rochester Comprehensive plan for that matter. Women’s safety probably never comes up because women are so severely underrepresented on the city council, on the county board, as department heads, and basically most areas of power in Rochester.

Minnesota State Visitability Law

Here is the statute. Of course, it does not require private funded developers to comply, only those financed with governmental funds. I think that we should persuade banks to get on board and refuse to lend to developers insensitive to community needs. Maybe they could cut a half a percent interest off for developers who will build ACCESSIBLE AFFORDABLE HOUSING with a VISITABILITY standard that Rochester desperately needs.

Visitability: accessible homes to own, rent, or visit

Minnesota State Law actually includes an adoption of visitability as a principle for housing construction. Why then are we stuck with builders who decry doing any ACCESSIBLE buildings under various provably false justifications?

Time for Rochester City Council to be like Austin and adopt VISITABILITY AS THE HOUSING STAND FOR ROCHESTER!