In 1998 Terry Moore purchased a home in Lake Forest Estates, a new subdivision in the southeastern part of town. One day on a walk around the block, he came to a corner and stopped. Instead of finding a sidewalk leading to the street, he was left standing before only a stretch of grass.
After that initial stroll, Moore–who moved here after retiring as a social studies teacher in the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn–has toured many other subdivisions, documenting various violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Moore, who is not disabled, has found problems with at least 60 walkways and noted neighborhoods and commercial districts where there aren’t any sidewalks at all. He’s approached the City of Springfield, the Illinois Attorney General, and even the U.S. Department of Justice with a simple goal: “Those responsible should fix these problems and pay for them,” he says. The message he’s gotten back: Good luck.
The ADA became law in 1990, and with it came new requirements for businesses, restaurants, homes, sidewalks, schools, and municipalities. All construction after 1990 is supposed to be in compliance, but often isn’t. In Springfield, many post-ADA sidewalks don’t connect to the street. When they do, they often are not stamped with a mandated textured pattern or are pitched too steep for wheelchairs. Several extend to the street, but lead directly onto sewage drains, a hazard for the wheelchair-bound, as well as for those in rollerblades or high heels.
“Sidewalks in Springfield are certainly an issue with us,” says Dave Kiliman, assistant director of the Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission, a county agency that evaluates development and variance requests before the Springfield City Council and Sangamon County Board. “Sidewalks are critical to proper urban development, and the city has been short on that side. One of our primary interests is a more pedestrian-friendly Springfield.” The SSCPC, which has no authority over developers, often notifies them of violations anyway. “We’re going out on a limb,” Kiliman says. “At best, we can threaten not to recommend future plans.”
Developers blame the city for lack of leadership and inconsistency, especially in regard to its history of offering sidewalk variances. The city blames developers for promising one thing and building another. Those with disabilities blame a culture of indifference–no one takes responsibility. They all might be right.
Siding with Moore is Dan Dickerson, a consultant for several local and statewide disability-rights organizations. Dickerson’s career began after something more serious than a neighborhood walk: In 1989, he lost his right leg in a car wreck. Wheelchair-bound, he now lobbies for ADA compliance throughout Illinois. In Springfield, he has pushed for a ramp at Lincoln Library’s North Branch on North Grand Avenue, a project the city promised to fix ten years ago but still hasn’t. During the last mayoral race, candidates Tim Davlin and Tony Libri both promised to erect a new ramp there within a couple months of taking office.
“We’re very optimistic about working with Mayor Davlin,” says Dickerson, who’s also concerned about the city’s lack of ADA-compliant taxis. “But over the years, we’ve become frustrated and we’re losing our patience.”
Davlin and other elected officials should take note: There are more than 19,000 Springfieldians with disabilities, according to the last census. “Access to the polls in Sangamon County is pretty good,” Dickerson notes. “Actually, a joy to work with.”
Joe Albers heads Dual Development Company II, which has built several of Springfield’s newest subdivisions, including Moore’s. Albers has had to return to Lake Forest Estates to fix many of its curbs and sidewalks. He still has to go back to place the textured stamps.
“The City of Springfield is not being clear about this,” Albers says. “I’m just doing what the city told me to do. It approved initial construction plans and now we have to go back and retrofit. We received a letter from the Illinois Attorney General. This guy [Terry Moore] is really stirring up a lot of problems.”
Albers says he’s dealing with rules that either don’t make sense or contradict one another. For example: He’s been told to put sidewalks in first, before houses are even built. But these sidewalks will probably get destroyed by construction trucks rolling over them. That’s why Albers would prefer to build the sidewalks last. He says he’s been told to use one type of curb because of the way water must drain but it’s difficult to slope that curb according to ADA specs.
“ADA people, the city, and the state all need to get together and create standards instead of fighting with one another,” Albers says. “Until then, from now on I’ll build the sidewalks first. When they’re destroyed after construction, I’ll let the city fix them.”
“This sidewalk problem with developers is a sore subject,” says Rich Berning, acting director for Springfield’s Office of Public Works, which is responsible for sidewalks. “I know of no time when the city has given a developer or engineer a recommendation that was not in compliance with ADA. If we have, I sure would like it pointed out to me.”
Berning does acknowledge that, to his chagrin, developers have won variances from the City Council allowing them to opt out of building sidewalks altogether. The issue came to a head a few years ago, he says, when the Town & Country shopping center on MacArthur Boulevard was granted a variance to skip the sidewalk requirement when subdividing its property.
“Later, after the Osco went up without sidewalks, Mayor Hasara was driving past it and saw someone in a wheelchair out on the street trying to get to the bus stop,” Berning recalls. “She said, ‘Never again,’ and since then we’ve seen a cultural change and much fewer variances. I’ve been called a lot of names, including by Terry [Moore]. Yeah, we’ve had some problems and I’ve been disappointed by that. Things fell through the cracks and we’re trying to correct them. But we don’t have the staff to check every subdivision. If Terry or someone calls and tells us there’s a problem navigating a sidewalk, we will get out and fix it.”
Moore says he’ll find plenty of work: “It’s an epidemic.”
This article appears in May 8-14, 2003.
