PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — In celebration of Disability Pride Week in Philadelphia, city officials unveiled a newly accessible City Hall on Wednesday.
Mayor Jim Kenney joined Amy Nieves, executive director of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, and her team to present the work they have been doing to ensure access for everyone to all city services and programs.
“One in five Philadelphians are a person with disabilities,” Nieves said. “Philadelphia has the highest disability rate of all of our large U.S. cities, at 17% — and they face barriers every day.”
With a $300,000 grant last year, MOPD has taken corrective actions in City Hall: installing more than 600 tactile, high-contrast signs throughout the building; installing grab bars and placing mirrors and soap and towel dispensers lower on the wall in ADA-compliant restrooms; and reducing door speeds.
In addition to the City Hall upgrades, they made improvements to doorways and emergency exits at certain library locations and Parks & Recreation facilities.
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Kimberly Stephan with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Philadelphia says much of the city’s focus was on signage, which she says is integral to inclusivity.
“I’m really looking at pictograms in the signage,” she said, “because what tends to be the pictogram for a woman is a dress, and that’s the universal signage, and we’re really trying to change that.”
The final plan also reflects changes to address some of the feedback in public focus groups.
“Our office aims to reduce and eliminate, to shift conversation around disability representation, and to improve accessibility for our residents,” she said, “and from this day forward, all people will have equitable access.”
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