News from Northwest ADA Center – Idaho

Building a more accessible America

You may have been hearing Pete Buttigieg of the Department of Transportation talking about addressing climate change and the need for accessible transportation – both things disproportionately affecting people with disabilities. The DOT Is working to provide funding and grants for communities to address these needs.

An estimated 900 railway stations are not ADA accessible. And those that are often have elevators closed for repairs.

To remedy this the DOT is developing a bipartisan infrastructure investment called All Stations Accessibility Program or ASAP.

“One thing we’re trying to support is active transportation. We need to make sure that people are able to walk or bike or roll to wherever they need to be. I think that’s something that has been maybe more familiar for people living in city centers or dense urban areas, but it can bring benefit everywhere in the country. When we adopted a Fleet Streets approach in my hometown of South Bend, for example, that really opened up what had been a road pattern that was almost hostile to any traffic besides vehicles. It opened that up to people, and through that to small business, too because it became a more inviting place to have a cup of coffee or browse a store.

All of these things add up to a more vibrant local economy, and they add up to more ease for people getting to where they need to go, especially when you start from the principle of safety. That’s really what’s on our minds as we work to make active transportation available to more Americans, and many of our grant programs do just that.” ~ Pete Buttigieg

For more information about the ADA contact:

Dana Gover, MPA, and ACTCP Certification, ADA Training and Technical Assistance Coordinator 

For more information about ADA Technical Assistance visit the NW ADA Center Idaho website: nwadacenter.org/idaho

Email:dananwadacenteridaho@gmail.com
Phone: Voice and Text 208-841-9422
Idaho Relay Service: 7