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Porter Sq. Plaza Complaint Filed
Tuesday, August 29— I have filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (MAAB) about apparent violations of law in the recently opened Porter Square Plaza.This complaint was filed on behalf of everyone, but especially for folks who are blind or legally blind, or with other vision impairments, as I have been informed that there are numerous design elements at Porter Sq. Plaza that are hazardous for them.
It appears that the wheelchair ramp and other features are not compliant with the Federal civil rights law, the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Here in Massachusetts, we have in the Building Code, Chapter 11: Accessibility—780 CMR 11 is entirely unique to Massachusetts. It states that "all public buildings shall be designed to be accessible to, functional for and safe for the use by physically handicapped persons."
By definition, Porter Sq. Plaza is a building open to the public.
The wheelchair ramp takes folks for whom stairs are a barrier up to Mass Avenue, the Red Line station, and the MBTA bus stop.
The issue is, was the ramp designed and built in compliance with the MAAB regulations?
Below is a photo showing how close the rocks are to the foot of the ramp.
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The ramp must have a landing that is the width of the ramp by 60 inches. Measurements between the railings show the width to be 65 inches, but it was difficult to find the foot of the ramp. A ramp is defined as having a running slope greater than 1:20 but less than or equal to 1:12. Also, a ramp more than 30 feet long must have a landing, or resting place, to break up the long, steep decent.
So, the issue here is, where does the ramp end and the landing begin? After several measurements to document the gradual slope, I found the foot of the ramp to be almost 32 feet long, and almost 20 inches from the rocks, which are clearly intruding into the landing area at the foot of the ramp.
The railing must extend 12 inches beyond the slope of the ramp, to allow for folks to transion safely from the slope of the ramp onto the landing. The photo shows the railing ending before the ramp ends. This also results in another violation, as the walkway that enters the landing now has a non compliant cross slope.
Below is what it looks like when approaching from the bottom.
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The upside is clear, but when coming down, a wheelchair or "scooter" would not have enough room at the foot of the ramp, and would either be forced to change directions while still on the steep ramp, or run into the rocks. This is a bigger problem for folks with ambulatory disabilities, as they would have to angle across the cross slope without a railing to help steady them. One can only imagine this challenge in the winter!
The City's response to the MAAB's request for information was due Friday, August 25th.
http://fromtheport.blogspot.com/
MRGRA meeting