LIVONIA, Mich. (WXYZ) — Disability advocates and residents say the temporary ramp installed at Livonia City Hall raises safety and accessibility concerns ahead of early voting in July.
Livonia resident Dean Olivas uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. He used the new temporary ramp for the first time while the permanent concrete ramp at city hall undergoes repairs to make it more accessible.
Watch Christiana Ford's video report below:
"Truthfully, the new (temporary) ramp felt a little janky just going down it, but it felt secure. I didn't think I was gonna fall or anything like that. Just a little loud and creeky just based on the materials," Olivas said.
Others are raising more pointed concerns. Karen Green, a senior and disability advocate with the grassroots organization Access Livonia NOW 504, does not use a wheelchair but demonstrated the issues she sees with the temporary ramp including distance from parking, and ramp structure.
“You have a senior who has heart disease or anybody that has any kind of breathing of any kind of mobility issues. They have to walk all the way around to the side of the building," Green said.
Green says she is concerned about those who have no choice but to use the temporary ramp during early voting in July.
"Voting must be held in a barrier-free location," Green said. "If you have to fight and have to have upper body strength to try to get into the building to vote, that means the site has too many barriers.”
Green and fellow disability advocate Laura Jannika say they have been pushing for better accessibility at Livonia City Hall for years and are displeased with what officials have come up with.
"They don't have an accessible bathroom here, they can't get up the ramp, they know these things... they've known for decades," Jannika said. "A simple solution to all of this would have been to do the voting and have an annex for voting either at the library over there or the old city courthouse or the old senior center."
Assistant City Engineer David Lear acknowledges the issue has a long history.
"It's been an ongoing, I'll say controversy for years," Lear said.
Despite the complaints, Lear says the temporary ramp meets ADA requirements and that the city is actively addressing repairs to the permanent concrete ramp.
"So, we've contracted with a mobility expert to bring in a temporary ramp to put in place for people to use during the construction of the existing ramp and also maybe afterwards as a secondary option as well," Lear said.
Hear more from David Lear below:
The temporary ramp cost just under $20,000, compared to $3,000 to $5,000 to repair the permanent ramp, which Lear says would take about a week to complete.
"There's always gonna be people on both sides that no matter what you propose, there's always gonna be someone out there that feels differently. So, we're always having to wade through that and more or less pick the best path, but in the end, it comes down to the administration," Lear said.
He also warns against what he says is misinformation on the internet.
"There is a lot of misinformation that gets put on the internet in general and, you know, the social media, and people forward it or recite it as gospel once it's on the internet. And there is a lot of things that are incorrect out there. Currently, the existing ramp, it does actually meet the ADA standards for slope and rise and run. I know a lot of people are saying it doesn't," Lear said.
Lear says no comprehensive plan to upgrade city hall currently exists, and that fully meeting ADA standards would require costly major renovations.
Disability advocates say real progress is moving too slowly and without their input.
"A huge problem we have in Livonia is transparency and bringing people in," Jannika said.
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