Curb ramps liberate Americans with disabilities - and everyone else

WASHINGTON - The barricades that quadriplegic Ed Roberts and his comrades stormed 40 years ago were a few inches high. Yet today millions of Americans pass daily through the breaches they created.
Curb cuts, the breaches are called. Or curb ramps.
Since 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act has required them on new construction, renovations and wherever a city does major street or sidewalk work. All this curb-ramp building has helped the United States lead the world when it comes to providing public access for people with disabilities.
"For all this country's many faults, one thing we do better than anybody is architectural-barrier removal," said Mary Lou Breslin, the co-founder and senior policy adviser of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, based in Berkeley, Calif.

Fine for Handicapped Parking Violations in Madison Cut in Half

Don't believe everything you read. A $100 fine might make you think twice about parking illegally in a handicapped spot, but would $50? Madison city attorney Mike May tells us his office found a discrepancy in the state traffic code that causing Madison to cut its penalty for handicapped parking violators in half. May said a state conference of judges set the fine for illegally parking in these spaces at $50, no matter what Wisconsin city you're in. "There are certain provisions in it where the state says you have to strictly follow what we do," he said. "There are other provisions where we're given some leeway. And this falls in the one where we're limited." "How do we stop the abuse if we lowering the fine," asked Jeff Erlanger, who sits on Madison's parking council for people with disabilities.

Baseball league for disabled kids a 'Miracle' play

DELRAY BEACH — Julia and Jeff Kadel got the idea to start a baseball league for disabled kids after watching a TV program about a national association that oversees "Miracle Leagues" throughout the United States.
After about two years of fund-raising, the newly formed Miracle League of Delray Beach has enough money to start building a playing field. A rubberized field with painted-on bases that can be used by children who use wheelchairs or walkers will be built this summer at Miller Park on Southwest Fourth Avenue. Visually impaired players will use balls that beep so they can find them.

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Student Accessibility Service assists Kent

Junior biology major Matt Potokar doesn't have too much difficulty getting into buildings. All it takes is the click of a button from a remote control on his wheelchair. "It opens up all the handicap doors," Potokar said. "That's pretty cool." Laura McGlothlin, accessibility coordinator for Student Accessibility Services, which provided Potokar's controller, said she thinks Kent State has one of the most accessible campuses around. "I think we have one of the most outstanding programs in the United States, and if you ask people that, they'll probably agree," she said. "Kent State is known for its disability services, for the ease of getting through the program, working with our office. We make it very easy for students." McGlothlin said the most common accommodations people receive are extended times for exams, the ability to take exams in a reduced distraction environment and the ability to tape record class lectures.

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