Effort looks to July selectmen’s meeting
UPDATED, June 25: Following Town Meeting support of a resolution concerning handicap parking in the town’s business districts, the Disability Commission of Arlington invites you to a series of June walkshops to look at the issue.
The walk scheduled for Saturday, June 25, has been canceled. Organizer Darcy Devney said the group had contacted as many businesses as it could to date. She wrote to the Arlington email list:
“Today’s Walkshop (Arl Heights 2 – Appleton Street to Whole Foods, plus any areas missed before) is cancelled, because we’re basically finished with that part.
“An update on the Handicap Placard (HP) Parking Project:
“We’ve contacted over 150 businesses in the 3 business districts, and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive, which is great. We will be tweaking the map a little based on site conditions and comments. Then we’ll make the final presentation to the Board of Selectmen at their July meeting (Mon 18 July 2016). If they approve (and I really, really hope they will), mplementation will probably be phased in. As soon as new HP parking spaces are designated, we’ll try to get them added to the Parking Map online. (it’s currently offline while it’s being updated).”
During the walkshops, members of the commission will be checking the locations of proposed handicap parking spaces. The criteria for locating such spaces are complex, and the variables include nearness to curb cuts, whether a handicap lift can lower completely without problems and lack of overhead obstacles.
The public is welcome to join those involved, share perspectives and hear about the proposed changes.
Currently, the percentage of handicap space is too low to accommodate the number of people with placards. The Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting agree with the goal of an adequate number of handicap-parking spaces in the optimal places.
Read much more detail about the issue here >>
Your experiences and opinions are welcome, and you may always send emails to Cynthia DeAngelis, the chair of the Handicapped Parking Policy and Process Subcommittee, at cynthia.deangelis[@]gmail.com
Here is the earlier schedule (all start at 10 a.m.):
Saturday, June 4, Arlington Heights 1 (Trader Joe’s to Appleton Street);
Saturday, June 11, Arlington Center (Broadway Plaza to Mill Street);
Saturday, June 18, East Arlington (focusing on Capitol Square; Feast of the East begins at noon that day, and, the Disability Commission is staffing a table);
Saturday, 25 June, Arlington Heights, 2 (Appleton Street to Whole Foods, plus any areas missed before)
This announcement was published Thursday, May 26, 2016, and updated June 25.
