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Hyde Park project aims to improve access for disabled

Niagara Gazette - 6/23/2017

June 23--Work is now underway to improve accessibility for residents with disabilities at recreational facilities within the City of Niagara Falls.

Local officials joined representatives from Western New York Independent Living, Inc. on Thursday in marking the start of modifications that are being made to a pair of Hyde Park picnic shelters in keeping with standards set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

As part of the effort, the Oasis and Centennial Pavilions will be outfitted with bathrooms, tables and grills that will accommodate users in wheelchairs. Curb-cut-style mini-ramps will be incorporated into the concrete slabs to provide access. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of summer.

The work follows a lawsuit filed several years ago under the ADA that charged the city with failing to comply with federal requirements for installing accommodations for citizens with disabilities in public facilities. The legal action helped establish a Task Force for People with Disabilities, which includes an employee of WNYIL's branch, Independent Living of Niagara County and two volunteers with disabilities from the community.

Thursday's event coincided with the Disability Pride Niagara Olmstead Family Picnic, which marks the 18th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision that found "unjustified segregation of persons with disabilities constitutes discrimination in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

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(c)2017 the Niagara Gazette (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)

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