Ford Street Not Accessible to the Disabled

William Beranty (left) and Ford City Mayor Marc Mantini hold discussion concerning Ford Street. “This Council believes in helping the handicapped,” Mantini told Beranty.

Ford City Borough Council heard complaints last night about handicap accessibility from two members of the Disability Investigative Group (D.I.G).

“We have had problems on Ford Street,” Councilman Terry Tokarek said as he introduced DIG members William Beranty and Bill Tatters.

According to Beranty, handicap ramps on Ford Street do not meet the required Americans Disabilities Act (ADA) code and are not usable by persons with disabilities due to the close proximity of a fire hydrant and utility pole blocking access.

“Who approved the handicap access with the fire plug and the telephone pole?” Beranty questioned. “Why do you supply a sign for the constituents of [State Representative] Pyle but no handicap parking is available within the block? If you follow handicap parking signs, you end up in a loading zone. I would like to know who inspected it after completion. There is not one (sidewalk) cut the entire length of Ford Street.”

Council President John Lux referred Beranty to PennDOT.   “Whoever did the drawings forgot to put that there were 100-year-old buildings there,” Lux said. “You would have had to tear down those buildings to put in ramps. PennDOT approved the drawings.  This needs to go to PennDOT.”  

Councilman Ron Dillard maintained he was not notified of the problem. “The majority of this Council did not know there was a problem, but it will be addressed,” Dillard promised. “I will write a work order tonight and take it to a supervisor tomorrow morning and we will address handicap parking on Ford Street.  We can make a quick fix of that.  We followed [drawings for] the curb cuts that PennDOT orchestrated. Throwing stones at this group is a waste of time. None of us had any control of accessibilities because it was engineered, carried through, and signed off by PennDOT.”

Dillard said he plans to go to PennDOT immediately. “I have asked them to send me seven weeks ago the new ADA requirements for sidewalks,” he said. “As we do catch basins, we are trying to put in adequate ADA.  We are talking with the sewage project and they will put in ADA accessible corners also.  It is not as if we are not addressing the issue. We are all novice when it comes to ADA.  If we get the right information, it is followed. The best we can do is reach out and get the information.”