Group sues City of Austin, businesses for allegedly discriminating
against people with disabilities
By Juan Castillo
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
July 26, 2012
A state advocacy group for people with disabilities said Thursday it is
suing the City of Austin and more than two dozen businesses in the city
and across the state, accusing them of discriminating against people
with disabilities by denying them access to public amenities.
The lawsuits in Austin are directed at signature facilities that are
ingrained in the city’s unique culture and that people with
disabilities can’t fully enjoy, the plaintiffs said. They said the
lawsuits were timed to coincide with the 22nd anniversary of the
passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and that they seek
compliance with the law and aim to build a city culture of
inclusiveness for all.
“Let’s keep Austin weird, but above all, let’s make Austin an inclusive
community,” said Joe Berra, an attorney for the Texas Civil Rights
Project, which filed the suits on behalf of several plaintiffs. Adapt
of Texas, an advocacy group for people with disabilities, joined in the
lawsuits.
“The (law) should not be an afterthought or a burden for architects,
designers, developers and city planners,” Berra said. “It is a moral
imperative to make our community inclusive.”
The civil rights project said it filed 32 lawsuits in Austin, Houston,
Burleson, Longview, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley by the end of
Thursday and expects to file one more suit in Austin on Monday. The
lawsuits name 12 defendants in Austin, Berra said.
Lawsuits against the City of Austin accuse it of failing to provide
accessible parking in the downtown business and entertainment districts
— specifically on Sixth Street, as well as on South Congress Avenue —
and of failing to provide accessible routes and ramps throughout its
trail system, equal access to pools, and adequate signs to alert people
with disabilities to accessible paths and entrances in city parks.
“The City of Austin has yet to be served with this lawsuit; however, we
are continuously working to ensure Austin is a livable city for all of
our residents,” the city’s Law Department said in a statement Thursday.
At a news conference held on the sidewalk in the 1500 block of South
Congress Avenue, Jennifer McPhail with Adapt of Texas, described her
difficulties gaining access to the city’s hike-and-bike trails and to
Deep Eddy Pool.
“We’ve been patient long enough. I want access to the trail just like
anyone else,” said McPhail, who uses a wheelchair and is a plaintiff in
one of the lawsuits against the city.
Watching the news conference from her wheelchair-accessible van, a
plaintiff in another lawsuit, Doris Standlee, said she was there to
show the inaccessibility of parking in the South Congress area, which
is lined with restaurants and eclectic shops. Even if she were to find
an empty parking space, her wheelchair ramp would lead right into a
street curb, she pointed out.
“I can’t even imagine being inside one of these shops,” Standlee said.
One suit targets the Statesman Capitol 10K, which is run by the Austin
American-Statesman. In the lawsuit, plaintiff Robert Menard, who uses a
wheelchair, objected to what he said was a requirement that would-be
participants in wheelchairs prove that they have completed a 10K race
in less than 50 minutes, as well as a rule allowing only use of racing
wheelchairs, which Menard said he could not afford. He said the rules
discriminated against him and prevented his participation in the 2012
race.
Eddie Burns, vice president, chief financial officer and business
manager for the Statesman, said the newspaper had not been served with
the lawsuit and did not have a comment.
Other lawsuits named local restaurants, cab and bus companies and large
retailers.
Contact Juan Castillo? at 445-3635
Source:
http://www.statesman.com/news/local/group-sues-city-of-austin-businesses-for-allegedly-2422989.html