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CILCP JOINS MAYOR REED TO LAUNCH CITY ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES New manual will provide practical advice to businesses looking to improve accessibility Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed explains the importance of improving the accessibility of city businesses. Mayor Reed held a press conference on Monday, July 25, 2005 to launch an accessibility design guidelines manual.   (Harrisburg, Pa.) - On July 25, one day before the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Harrisburg Mayor Stephen R. Reed and leaders from the Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania (CILCP) held a press conference to launch an accessibility design guidelines manual that provides instructions for making properties more accessible to people with disabilities. (Click Here for More Photos from the Press Conference) The city's new manual, officially titled Accessibility Design Guidelines for Existing Structures in the City of Harrisburg, focuses on exterior accessibility issues for existing buildings, including suitable ramps, thresholds and door features. CILCP consulted the City of Harrisburg's Department of Building and Housing Development during the creation of the guidelines. "I truly believe that people want to do the right thing. The accessibility design guidelines provide a resource to help people do the right thing," CILCP Executive Director Theotis Braddy said at the press conference held in the atrium of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. City Government Center. More than 50 people attended the event. Local advocates Pam Auer, Lynnette Foreman and Vini Portzline also worked with the city on the development of the manual. During the press conference they each gave accounts of how ADA and accessibility improvement in general has helped them and others in their communities. In her presentation, Auer explained how accessibility upgrades throughout the city benefit both people with and without disabilities. "On my way to the City Government Center this morning I came to a crosswalk at the same time as a woman pushing a stroller and a man riding a bicycle. All three of us headed directly for the curb cut on the opposite side of the road. This just shows how accessibility helps everyone in the community," she said. Auer is with Pennsylvania Protection and Advocacy and is a Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights team leader. Foreman represents the Pennsylvania Council on Independent Living, serves on the CILCP board of directors, and is the chair of Accessible Communities Today (ACT) of Dauphin County. Portzline has worked with CILCP on a number of projects and is a previous chair of ACT. In the manual, ACT, "commends the City of Harrisburg for promoting equal access for all." The group stated that improving accessibility not only benefits the disabled, but also the elderly and those pushing strollers. ADA is a civil rights law, signed into action July 26, 1990 by President George Bush. It guarantees the right of people with disabilities to receive equal access to employment, transportation, public services, public accommodation and telecommunications. There are approximately 54 million people with disabilities in the United States. "What the physically able can take for granted in daily lives is a challenge for those with physical limitations," Mayor Reed said. "The noble goal of an inclusive America and an inclusive community shall be achieved only by removing physical and other barriers." The city's manual suggests solutions for exterior accessibility on existing buildings, including suitable ramps, thresholds and door features. The manual includes descriptions and pictures of successful renovations as a reference for those who want to improve the accessibility of a building's exterior entranceway. Business owners seeking to increase interior accessibility can contact CILCP for additional guidance. Vern McKissick, AIA, principal of McKissick Associates, an architectural firm in Harrisburg, told attendees that many times building owners resist addressing accessibility issues because of fear. "Fear and resistance is usually based on numerous misunderstandings," McKissick explained. "Handicapped-accessibility renovations even on historic buildings can be done affordably." McKissick concluded his remarks by referring to the accessibility design guidelines manual as a cookbook of ideas that should be positively received by the community. CILCP Executive Director Theo Braddy said that, "the accessibility design guidelines provide a resource to help people do the right thing."   Braddy said, "The manual is an excellent tool for use in improving accessibility throughout Pennsylvania's Capital City. The Center for Independent Living can help any business or facility manager who has further questions about accessibility." During the press conference the Mayor expressed that he wants the improvement of accessibility to be a collaborative effort between the city and business owners rather than something the city has to enforce. He says that buildings should be open to increasing accessibility because it enables them to provide their services to all people and will increase income. "The lack of accessibility to retail storefronts is one of the most common and vexing complaints we receive from physically challenged citizens," said the Mayor. "This is an issue of both equity and economics, as disabled persons who are unable to access a store also can't spend money there. It is certainly in both the customer's and the business's interests to make their stores more accessible." There are a variety of financial incentives offered by the federal government for businesses that choose to increase accessibility. The guideline packet includes a section explaining several tax programs and provides references to other tax information resources. Tucker Hill, president of the CILCP board of directors, says, "Mayor Reed has always been an advocate for improving accessibility." According to Hill, one of the first acts that he remembers Mayor Reed performing in office was designating nearly $250,000 dollars towards adding curb cuts to city sidewalks. CILCP recently promised to underwrite an accessibility design course for architecture students studying in the Harrisburg Urban Studio during the fall 2005 semester. The Urban Studio is an architecture education program started in 2004 by Mayor Reed. The innovative program is designed to have architecture students design and build projects to help improve disadvantaged communities. Harrisburg's Department of Building and Housing Development has served the area for more than 30 years with a focus on planning, implementing and enforcing codes and programs to maximize the use of land and natural resources for the safety, use and enjoyment of the public. The Department can be contacted at 717-255-6480 or at Department of Building and Housing Development, City Government Center, 10 N. Second St. Suite 206, Harrisburg, PA 17101. The Center for Independent Living of Central Pennsylvania is a nonprofit, nonresidential organization established for and by people with disabilities and serves Cumberland, Dauphin, Perry, Mifflin and Juniata counties. CILCP's vision is to empower people with disabilities to fully participate in all aspects of society. For more information on the CILCP visit www.cilcp.org or contact Nathan Pigott at 717-975-2148 or via email at npigott@hersheyphilbin.com. (Click Here for More Photos from the Press Conference) Back to the Newsroom