CMCB Takes No Prisoners
by Al Pietrolungo
When it comes to the battle over enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Central Maryland Council of the Blind in Baltimore, Md. takes no prisoners. CMCB is the Greater Baltimore chapter of the American Council of the Blind, and this group of about 70 members has been actively engaged in several interesting ADA compliance battles within the past two years.
One of these issues, a traffic circle known as the Towson Roundabout, became a chapter project in the fall of 1997 after CMCB member Phil Guntner filed a complaint with the United States Department of Justice alleging that the construction of this traffic circle in a highly congested urban environment created serious safety and diminished access problems for blind, disabled and elderly pedestrians. In this project, traffic signals had been removed so that traffic could continuously move through the roundabout. The Maryland State Highway Administration argued that blind pedestrians could cross these busy streets at designated crossings simply by holding out their canes and stepping off the curb. Parker F. Williams, Director of the State Highway Administration, expressed the view his agency had made it safer for blind pedestrians. In his view, all we had to do was hold out a cane or step off the curb with our guide dogs, and drivers in all lanes would stop to allow us to cross the street.
The membership of the chapter recognized the inherent foolishness of the state’s position, and in November 1997 voted to support Phil’s complaint by filing a second complaint on behalf of the chapter. We argued that blind pedestrians had a safe method for crossing these busy streets by crossing at intersections where the flow of moving vehicles was controlled by traffic signals. Now, federal dollars were being used to make these intersections less accessible by not only removing these traffic signals but creating a barrier of continuously moving traffic which made it impossible for blind pedestrians to safely move across the streets. We argued it was the equivalent of having an environment which contained curb cuts and then removing the curb cuts. Under this argument, we contended that the federal dollars were being used to make the neighborhood less accessible and much more dangerous, and this decision violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Unfortunately, the matter was referred to the Federal Highway Administration to conduct an investigation. Chapter leaders suggested that asking federal highway administrators to investigate a civil rights complaint filed by blind pedestrians was the equivalent of asking the fox to guard the chicken coop. Our doubts regarding the objectivity of the Federal Highway Administration proved to be accurate. In 25 words or less, that decision suggested that the implementing regulations dealt with such matters as curb cuts, etc. Therefore, the Maryland State Highway Administration’s actions did not violate any regulations. The decision failed to address our diminished access or safety concerns at all.
This apparent defeat may yet be turned into a significant victory. Just a few weeks after the shortsighted decision issued by the Federal Highway Administration, the United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board decided to establish a committee to evaluate whether there is a need to make new regulations designed to protect the access needs of disabled pedestrians who are not in wheelchairs. ACB has a representative on that committee, so we are eagerly awaiting further developments.
In anticipation that there will be some positive regulations stemming from the work of this committee, former American Council of the Blind of Maryland president Gary Legates sent a letter to Governor Glendening in Annapolis asking him to declare a moratorium on the construction of new traffic circles in Maryland.
On a second ADA compliance issue, the chapter has been pressuring the Maryland Mass Transit Administration to comply with the ADA by making stop announcements on its fixed route service. This effort has been expanded to include paratransit issues, because on June 29, 1999, Ronald Freeland, Administrator of MTA, announced that beginning on July 1, all paratransit applicants and all re-certification customers would be required to take a functional test to measure ambulatory skills and cognitive ability. If blind paratransit applicants were to pass these tests, then MTA would deny their eligibility to receive paratransit services. Freeland was prepared to take this action even though a survey conducted by CMCB demonstrated that only about 15 percent of fixed route bus operators were complying with the stop announcement program.
The chapter responded in a decisive manner once again. On August 30, 1999, we filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation over the stop announcement issue and the new paratransit certification policy. The stop announcement issue is fairly clear. Bus operators are not making required announcements on a consistent basis, so MTA is violating federal law. The paratransit issue is clear also. The accessibility standard to be applied to blind customers is not whether we have sufficient ambulatory skills or cognitive abilities to use the bus system. One of the accessibility standards which applies to blind customers is whether the bus operator is providing us with information which is sufficient to make it possible for blind travelers to use the system (the stop announcements required by the ADA). If stop announcements are not being made, then we are eligible for paratransit service. Currently the investigation has been assigned to the Civil Rights Office in the Federal Transit Administration.
In a related development, the National Association for Accessible Transportation has filed a suit against the Maryland Mass Transit Administration regarding their failure to call out bus stops. Stay tuned for further developments.
This active chapter has also been working with Baltimore city and Maryland state election officials to make it possible for more blind voters to vote without assistance. We are making substantial progress in Baltimore, and with each election, more voters in Baltimore are using the new voting machines there without assistance.
The chapter has been helping the national office with a Department of Justice complaint over the refusal by Maryland State Highway Administration officials to install accessible pedestrian signals at various intersections throughout the state. We are complaining as loudly as we can about a decision by the State of Maryland to challenge the constitutionality of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. These projects are in the early stages, however.
You can understand why the chapter is proud of its effort to change the world with ACB. Undoubtedly, this effort will continue under the leadership of newly elected president Joann Kucik and vice president Gene Spurrier. CMCB is making a real difference in the lives of blind people living in the city by the Chesapeake Bay.
Joy Is ...
by Marcella Wiseman
… Having a powerful advocate to address the concerns of the visually impaired who, in addition to vision loss, experience the transitions which occur in the aging process.
At the American Council of the Blind national convention held in Los Angeles last July, those assembled took a giant step forward when the Alliance on Aging and Vision Loss became an affiliate. There was recognition that baby boomers are sending a message that progress involves valuing maturity and skills which are perfected through active utilization over time. As an affiliate, AAVL can make a significant difference in our lives, whether as paid workers or as retired individuals who make commitments to humanitarian causes by having the voice of an affiliate.
You are invited to join AAVL. The affiliate welcomes all adults over the age of 18, sighted, blind, visually impaired, able-bodied or disabled. The workshops which are being planned want and need your opinions and suggestions. Therefore, joy is having a structured forum that is responsive to change. Come let your light shine through!