Happy 20th Anniversary to the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990

This week is the 20th Anniversary of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 that ensures that our children and those of us with disabilities have the same access and rights to programs and services as every other citizen in the land. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. President George H.W. Bush signed the act into law on July 26, 1990.

According to Wikipedia, Title II of the Law prohibits disability discrimination by all public entities at the local and state level. This includes of course, schools; playgrounds; stadiums; parks where our children play; libraries; community centers; in fact, all county government facilities. The law covers access to all programs and services. The law also covers public transportation.

And, the law covers the traffic signalization at the streets our children must cross to get to school, and to walk in our county. Interestingly, Montgomery County does not comply with the law regarding traffic signalization. Traffic lights in the county are currently set at a standard of a pedestrian crossing a street at four feet per second. However, ADA standards are 3 to 3.5 feet per second. When your blogger recently asked when the county was planning to comply with the law (which, of course is now 20 years old), Montgomery County Department of Transportation (DOT) staff told me studies would have to be completed before that could happen.

As a reminder, County Executive Ike Leggett is in charge of the DOT, which falls under the county executive’s purview. To remind Mr. Leggett that Montgomery County should follow the law of the land, please email him here. Ask him when Montgomery County is planning to comply with the ADA. Tell him to stop discriminating against people with disabilities.