Dunwoody recently examined its Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, Jessica Guinn, the assistant city manager, and City Council approved a transition plan to bring all city property up to current standards.
“We’re required to do a self assessment to look at our existing facilities and services and assess how we measure up to the ADA requirements,” Guinn said. “We look for potential barriers to accessibility.”
A lack of handicapped parking spaces, doorways that are too narrow for wheelchairs and a lack of interpreter services are some of the ways the city’s facilities and services could fail Americans with disabilities, Guinn said.
City Hall itself, which is in a leased space, is mostly compliant, Guinn said.
She described an issue inside the women’s restroom where the handicap stall has too narrow a door for the wheelchair. Guinn said another restroom exists to accommodate wheelchairs, but extra signage may be needed.
For the most part, the city’s facilities are in compliance, she said, and in places such as the Donaldson Bannister farm, which was built before the act, and the Dunwoody Nature Center current or recent renovations will bring the buildings into compliance.
The city looked at its pedestrian facilities, too, and has plans to make improvements where needed.
“If we have sidewalks that are broken or incomplete that’s going to provide a significant barrier for accessibility for individuals who may be disabled,” Guinn said.
The Public Works Department looked at all 69 miles of sidewalk in Dunwoody and 187 signalized crosswalks in Dunwoody and determined six are not fully accessible at this point, Guinn said.
Guinn said nine crosswalk locations lack signals and half the city’s pedestrian ramps are not up to the most recent requirement standards, according to the Public Works Department.