Accessibility isn't a given at some Allegheny County buildings
Allegheny County appears to be breaking a federal law because of a wheelchair lift in the County Office Building, said a Downtown attorney who specializes in disability cases.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires wheelchair lifts to be operational without assistance, said attorney Paul O'Hanlon of the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania. The lift at the County Office Building's handicap entrance on Forbes Avenue requires assistance to operate.
"(The lift) clearly isn't unassisted," said O'Hanlon, a wheelchair user who says he's been stranded at the entrance before. "That's the big issue. My experience is that people don't know what to do. People don't know where the key is or where the guard is."
The lift wasn't operating during a recent visit by Trib p.m.
To gain access to the building, wheelchair users must rely on a security guard who has a key to the lift. If he is not there, a bell can be rung to alert him that someone needs assistance.
There is no wheelchair-accessible ramp at the entrance to the building, which houses the county's recorder of deeds, elections division and property assessment offices.
The ADA requires public buildings to be accessible for wheelchair users. Many private buildings also must comply with the law when major renovations are made.
The building meets ADA requirements, said Megan Dardanell, a spokeswoman for county Chief Executive Dan Onorato. She cited a stipulation in the act permitting older buildings to have wheelchair lifts with assisted operation.
"What we have may not be ideal, but we have done what we can," Dardanell said. "If you find that we are not compliant, we will make the necessary changes."
A U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman said wheelchair lifts, even in existing structures, must allow for independent use to be deemed compliant.
Onorato spokesman Kevin Evanto said the building complies with the law because it has another wheelchair-accessible entrance -- a loading dock ramp. That entrance is not marked as being wheelchair accessible.
But federal guidelines stipulate an accessible entrance cannot be a loading dock or similar service door.
Evanto said the County Office Building's wheelchair lift is used five or six times a day, and most people wait less than five minutes. A reporter waited 30 minutes before the guard arrived.
Evanto and Dardanell called that wait "unacceptable."
Wheelchair accessibility varied at other Downtown buildings.
The City-County Building and Allegheny County Courthouse on Grant Street passed inspection.
The wheelchair lift malfunctioned at 225 Ross St., where the Allegheny County Democratic Committee and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle have offices. Tom Santone, the building's owner, called the problem an "aberration" and said the lift now works.
Richard Meritzer, city ADA coordinator who works with the city-county Task Force on Disabilities, said he knows buildings in Pittsburgh are not ADA compliant. His job is to ensure new construction and renovations to older buildings meet federal standards.
But he works alone -- he has no staff. So a building inspector makes rounds when the department receives a complaint or businesses renovate. Meritzer could not say how many complaints his office receives each year.
The city has spent more than $700,000 since 2003 to install curb cuts through scheduled upgrades and special requests, said Joanna Doven, spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority has distributed another $270,000 since 2000 to renovate private residences of wheelchair users, URA spokeswoman Megan Stearman said.
Additional Information:
Lawsuits filed
Last month, a Florida-based nonprofit group representing people with disabilities filed four lawsuits against Pittsburgh-area retail properties, including Robinson Town Centre and The Mall at Robinson, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuits seek no monetary damages other than payment of attorney fees and expenses. They ask for property owners to make physical changes, including in architectural features that hinder access.
