Coalition Says Louisville Fares Well in Disability Access

By Katya Cengel
Published in Louisville, KY, Courier-Journal

While there is always room for improvement, Louisville is doing a pretty good job of making itself accessible for disabled people, said Marcellus Mayes, president of the nonprofit Metro Disability Coalition.

Two areas he still worries about, though, are employment opportunities and keeping public transportation affordable.

"I think that the one thing all disabled people come together on is about public transportation," he said. "Because they feel like if they can't get anywhere, nothing else matters."

Transportation also is a focus of the city, which recently installed global positioning systems in TARC 3 vans, which provide door-to-door service for disabled customers, said Tommy Clark, disabilities coordinator with the Louisville Metro Office for Aging and Disabled Citizens.

Voice-audible crossing signals have been installed in 68 places, said Clark, and there are plans to install more at the busiest intersections. Other efforts in the area include a disability friendly design manual for new streets, the announcement of a new training center, mentoring programs, accessible voting machines and a loan program for small businesses that want to become more accessible.

Such efforts earned Louisville a top 10 ranking in disability friendliness by the National Organization on Disability last year.

As for a recent incident in which a restaurant customer with cerebral palsy claims he was asked to move to another table because his voice was disruptive, Rich Cleaves, president of the Louisville chapter of the Kentucky Restaurant Association, said it was a situation that doesn't arise often and was one the restaurant's management probably was not trained to handle.

As a restaurant owner and as a citizen, said Cleaves, "we want to be able to cater to all people."

Reporter Katya Cengel can be reached at (502) 582-4224 kcengel@courier-journal.com - The Courier-Journal.