Accessibility Statement

We, the Tolland Commission on People with Disabilities offer our strong support for the proposed changes to the sidewalks on the Tolland Town Green to meet ADA accessibility standards.  A shared principle that we hope all stakeholders including property owners and the Historic District Commission can find common ground on is the idea that our town green reflects and expresses the values of its residents.

The specific implementation of changes to meet the recommendations of town attorneys should be an expression of compromise between engineering limitations and budgetary priorities. To support this process and meet our mandate of advising the Council, we recommend the following principles:

  • The Americans with Disabilities Act falls under the auspices of Department of Justice civil rights law. In this domain the principle of “separate but equal” has been roundly rejected. Given this we advise against any solutions that create a second, separate accessible path.
  • The principle of equal access precludes any undue inconvenience or safety risks. Accessible routes should follow the most direct route and not be diverted in ways that create additional street crossings as a way of preserving existing aesthetics.
  • History is happening now and is reflected in architecture and infrastructure.  Increased accessibility is something we can feel comfortable proudly expressing through design choices in a way that is built to last as a visible expression of our town’s values. We advise that changes be made in a way that are engineered to last and built for the next 300 years of history.

We applaud the efforts of the Town Council to quickly move forward with a plan to meet accessibility obligations and unequivocally reject any proposals from stakeholders that prioritize aesthetics over equal access or places over people.