Eagle Tribune
By: Kath Sciacca
Oct 12, 1994
To four town managers and one Mayor, Sidney Harris has told the same story.
From parking lots to voting booths to the sidewalks on Howe Street, Methuen is a tough place for the disabled.
To help make things better he wants the town to hire a part-time access coordinator to work with Building Commissioner Richard O’Loughlin, help enforce handicap parking, and be appointed the Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator. The job would pay $450 a month.
Mr. Harris has a disability – and he gets around with the help of a wheelchair and crutches. He is also the chairman of Methuen’s Commission on Disability.
“I can walk north on Howe Street on the sidewalk, but to walk south, I have to walk in the street because the side slope of the walkway is too steep. The curb ramps are too step as well” he said last night at a Town Meeting.
He gave the council a survey he just completed of where the town has problems with the disability access laws. Some of his findings include:
The accessible ramp at the CGS School playground is built wrong.
A gate goes across the ramp to the ice rink at the high school, making it inaccessible. “There are 12 steps in the way, which meant a man in a wheelchair wasn’t unable to access the ice rink to see his son play in a game l last week, Also Handicap parking is currently located over 500 feet away. The town should relocate them closest to the main entrances to accommodate people with disabilities.” Mr. Harris said.
The Searles Building’s handicapped entrance in the back of the building is difficult to maneuver in a wheelchair, and the telephone in the elevator can not be opened when a wheelchair is in the elevator. A wheelchair lift, which was used at the old Corliss School, is going to be refurbished so it can be used to give access to the main elevator from the lower level of the front entrance.
Oakland School has no handrails on its ramp, which is deteriorating and has a plywood floor.
There are approximately 174 handicapped parking spaces in the town, instead of the 415 it should have. and with the present budget being tight, he would like Methuen to start a citizen monitoring program, where citizens take pictures of cars parked illegally. Police Chief Donald DeSantis is opposed to the idea because it could place citizens in jeopardy, and use up manpower in tracking down auto registrations and having hearings on the complaints.
The sidewalks on the recently accepted Lady Slipper Lane housing development are not handicapped accessible.
Mayor Dennis Dizoglio said he would like to come up with a program to correct some of the handicapped accessibility issues raised by Mr. Harris.
“We would not be able to correct 100 percent of the deficiencies, but we would come as close as possible,” he said.
Mr. O’Louglin told the council he is only able to enforce the state code, which included the Architectural Access Board laws. He has no authority to enforce the new federal Americans with Disability Act and would support Mr. Harris in becoming the ADA Coordinator and would look forward to working with him because of his vast knowledge and experience with accessibility regulations.
“That law will take effect after Jan 1, 1995. And I can tell you, that beautiful new funeral home being built in town does not meet the ADA, ” he said.
He said he refers all builders and contractors to Mr. Harris for guidance with the ADA because he was told by the office in Washington he himself has no authority over that law.
“Mr. Harris is versed in the ADA and is a volunteer as a Community Access Coordinator for the State Office of Disabilities,” he said.