"Parking is available on the street; yet there are no handicap parking spaces in sight. Tony, Kevin and I approached this small library to find that there is a sloped cement walkway leading to the front entry door but it is not accessible because there is a 10″ inch threshold at the door that prevents wheelchair access.Keri Rodrigues also did a blog post on this issue shortly after The Traveling Wheelchair posted.
Tony went inside and spoke with a nice librarian. She explained that requests have been made to make this library accessible; but it has not been done due to lack of finances. She told him that she feels sorry for those in wheelchairs that she has to turn away. She told a story of one man in a wheelchair that was so desperate to enter that he transferred himself from his wheelchair to a chair right inside the door. This is a safety and liability hazard so it is good he was not injured."
By operating this library branch, the City of Fall River is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act which opens the city up to lawsuits. The worst part is that the city doesn't even own this inaccessible building, they rent it, and the city just signed another year long contract for the space.
Click here to view the 2008-2009 contract (I believe you have to download it view). Please not that Fall River Corporation Council, Arthur Frank, signed the lease, giving his legal approval for the city to rent a space that is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act....more excellent legal oversight.
The recent contract has the city paying $18,000/year to rent this legally violative space. Under last year's contract the city was paying $16,320. So the city is actually paying more this year for this liability.
