Hypothesis - The recently
renovated Municipal Building
at 232-234 Main Street in Ridgefield Park, NJ,
is inaccessible to a person in a wheelchair.
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This publication will attempt to prove through the use of pictures, that the above hypothesis is true. If true, this would mean that the building is in violation of the Federal ADA regulations 28CFR35.130, as well as New Jersey State Regulations. |
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We start our tour on the West Side of the Building and we are looking up the driveway. As you can see, there is no entrance there. The infamous RP Municipal Building Handicapped ramp is to the right in this photo, and the even more infamous Official Ridgefield Park Municipal Building State Mandated Handicapped Parking Spot, is out of sight to the left side of this photo. As you can see it is a blind corner, with both the ramp and the driveway sloping toward a common meeting point. During a Winter storm that ramp could be very dangerous. This corner is an accident waiting to happen. There should not be a ramp at the RPPD entrance, it should be steps with a solid railing. The door that is just a few feet uphill from the RPPD entrance should be modified to be a Handicapped Entrance.
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| Now we look at the back entrance
on the North Side of the Building. A handicapped lift could have been placed here
during the construction at a cost of a few thousand dollars. See how the
surveillance camera is placed so that a person could easily be buzzed into the
Building. It would have taken only a minor effort to put in an accessible
handicapped entrance at this point.
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Look at the East Side of the Building. Unless you have rocket packs on your wheelchair, you are not going to make it up those stairs.
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| This door has possibilities as a
handicapped entrance. It is unsuitable now because it slopes steeply toward the
street. Any accessway with a slope of more than 1 in 20 is deemed to be a
ramp. As you can see, the slope exceeds 1 in 20, there are no railings, nor is there
a level surface directly in front of the entrance door. The problem in entering this
door in a wheelchair is that when you go to grab the door handle, the wheelchair attempts
to flee toward the roadway because of the steep slope of the sidewalk.
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The OFFICIAL Handicapped Entrance! This deathramp is extremely dangerous to anyone in a wheelchair. If you are attempting to go uphill on the sidewalk toward Main Street, you will notice that the sidewalk slopes sharply toward the street. This means the wheelchair user has to break hard with the left hand, and provide all their forward propulsion with the right hand. I do not believe that even a person who is able-bodied could propel a wheelchair uphill on this sidewalk. If you are trying to go up the ramp, the interesting glob of blacktop will prove to be a challenge because of the complex surface which will make the wheelchair unstable as you try to cross it.
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| Looking up the driveway at the
Official Ridgefield Park Municipal Building State Mandated Handicapped Parking Spot, you
will notice that the slope vastly exceeds the 1/4 inch per foot slope that is the maximum
slope allowed by New Jersey Law for a Handicapped Parking Spot. This driveway is a
deathtrap to any person in a wheelchair!
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Looking down the driveway at the Official Ridgefield Park Municipal Building State Mandated Handicapped Parking Spot, you can see that this would make an excellent ski slope. Try this driveway in the winter and you may go skiing in your wheelchair. Hey, maybe that would be a good idea for a new Olympic Sport, Ridgefield Park Death Skiing. It is however, a poor idea for a handicapped parking spot, as it will tend to kill the wheelchair users.
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As an alternative, consider attempting to operate a wheelchair from the corner of Main and Park, down Park Street and into the Municipal Building using the deathramp. Then, exit the Municipal Building using the deathramp and attempt to go up Park Street to the corner of Main and Park. I suspect that you find it impossible to go up Park Street because the sidewalk slopes sharply toward the road surface. The person attempting this stunt would have to brake hard with the left hand to keep from going into the street, and completely propel themselves with their right hand while overcoming the braking action of their left hand. There are few people who would have strength enough to perform this task. I am not responsible for any injury or death occurring to any individual who attempts this stunt.
What do the federal regulations
say about a government building that
is inaccessible to a person in a wheelchair?
(a) No qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any public entity. This means a person using a wheelchair should be able to get into the Municipal Building!
(v) Aid or perpetuate discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability by providing significant assistance to an agency, organization, or person that discriminates on the basis of disability in providing any aid, benefit, or service to beneficiaries of the public entity's program; This means that the State and Federal Governments can cut off aid to the Village of Ridgefield Park!
(4) A public entity may not, in determining the site or location of a facility, make selections--
(i) That have the effect of excluding individuals with disabilities from, denying them the benefits of, or otherwise subjecting them to discrimination; or The Village of Ridgefield Park made choices that denied wheelchair users access to the Municipal Building!
Contact The Departments of the Village of Ridgefield Park
Go to the Village of Ridgefield Park Home Page
See The Inaccessible Ridgefield Park Sidewalks
See how a fire department has not put a handicapped parking spot next to their meeting hall at Fair Lawn Fire Company #1.
| This page was last edited on Saturday, February 20, 1999 |
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