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Volume 16, Issue 3
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Spring 2004 |
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| published quarterly by: The New Hampshire Challenge, Inc. P.O. Box 579, Dover, NH 03821-0579 |
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In This Issue
Top Stories |
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(Editor's note: This article was written at the end of the Fall semester. Since that time, several changes have been made. Not all of the problems outlined, however, have been addressed, presenting continuing challenges to students with disabilities.)
This past Fall incoming and returning students to UNH were welcomed by the highly anticipated new dining facility, Holloway Commons. This brand new building cost $26.4 million and one look at it would explain why. It features an 800-seat dining hall and a 300-seat meeting/conference room. The structural beauty of this new building is unparalleled on the UNH campus and the many various dining options within are absolutely fantastic.
Holloway Commons looks magnificent to the eye, but it has one common problem with many buildings on UNH...accessibility. |
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For someone who is walking disabled or in a wheelchair Holloway Commons is most likely not going to be one of his or her favorite places to dine.
My friend, Rebecca, who also uses a wheelchair and attends UNH, accompanied me on my first trip to Holloway Commons.
(A little background information on Rebecca - when she first started going to UNH in the fall of 2000 she was able to walk, but over time her ability to walk deteriorated and she now has to use a manual wheelchair.)
Unlike me, Rebecca has lived on campus so she really experienced the UNH campus life to its fullest. She truly is the resident expert of Holloway and the accessibility issues within it. Throughout the fall semester she kept me up to date with the horrors she faced at Holloway and because of what she said I avoided Holloway like the plague. At the end of the semester, after our finals, she gave me a guided tour.
The Entrances
Holloway has easy access to the main floor (which is the second floor) from outside and from an adjoining building, the Municipal Union Building (MUB). Unfortunately, the access point from the MUB to Holloway requires the use of a quirky chairlift to make it up about 7 stairs.
The chairlift is big enough to fit most wheelchairs, except for the bigger ones. With my chair's back in the standard upright position I couldn't reach the buttons to operate the lift. I needed to recline my chair in order to reach the buttons. Someone in a big chair like mine without the recline feature, I think, would not be able to use the lift.
There are plans to place signs up demonstrating how to use the lift because it is anything but obvious. Had Rebecca not been there to direct me I do not think I would have been able to figure it out.
When Rebecca took me to the lift to give it a try, it was disabled because, as several Holloway staff members told us, they don't want students "playing with it." So, we had to find someone who had a key - and knew how to work it - which took about 15 to 20 minutes. Also, I was informed by the Holloway staff that if the lift is idle for a long period of time (which was the case in this instance) it needs to be reset which, I would like to add, could not be done by any person who would need to use the lift.
Thankfully we were on the Holloway side trying to get down to the MUB and there were staff at a local register who could get us help. If we had been on the MUB side trying to get up to Holloway we would not have been so lucky. According to the ADA "if platform lifts are used then they shall facilitate unassisted entry, operation, and exit from the lift." At Holloway Commons, this is not the case.
The Dining Area
Once we made it into Holloway we went straight for the dining area. As we entered, I was shocked to see the layout.
The main tables are 5+ feet tall which render them useless to anyone in a wheelchair. My wheelchair has an elevate feature and even with it I would be a good foot too short to use these tables, which seemed to account for about 75% or more of the total tables available. Rebecca informed me that early in the year when she would attend Holloway to dine, there would be nowhere for her to sit. She requested that some of the normal height tables be reserved for people with disabilities. Her request was eventually fulfilled. In a statement from the ADA Compliance Officer at UNH, Donna Marie Sorrentino, I was told the following:
"Two four-person tables are reserved and identified with the international symbol of accessibility. The tables are strategically located to offer the most optimal access during peak dining times. These tables are closely monitored by the dining staff to keep them clear of those who abuse or disregard the restricted signage. The university aims to ensure that individuals with disabilities will not have to contend with the embarrassment of asking folks to move. Please understand that the majority of tables meet ADAAG. Reserving tables was to aid individuals with disabilities during peak dining periods to have easier access in securing a seat."
People without disabilities do sit at the reserved tables, however, according to Rebecca, and that occasionally includes a Holloway staff member. Additionally, one of the reserved tables is positioned right next to a fire exit making it hard for someone in a wheelchair to get to.
Also, there were six-person tables available, so why were two smaller, four-person tables the only ones reserved? Given the numerous tall tables that are not useable by individuals in wheelchairs I would have liked to have seen at least one bigger table reserved.
For the record, the table situation in Holloway is not in violation of the ADA. It's just a nuisance.
There is a floor above the dining area with more tables, but the only independent access to it is up a flight of stairs. When this issue was addressed to the ADA Compliance Officer, Sorrentino offered the following:
"By design, persons with disabilities can access the third floor via elevator. The elevator leads you to the third floor lobby where there is a door to enter the third floor dining/sitting room. Because of unanticipated security concerns, the door must be secured (locked). An interim, temporary solution is in place to allow for entry. This includes signage that is located at the main entrance to the dining/sitting area and food court (second floor) indicating that the Holloway Commons Receptionist will assist individuals with disabilities to the third floor dining/sitting room. A permanent solution is being discussed to allow independent access for individuals with disabilities. Our goal is to have a permanent solution in place for the Spring Semester, 2004."
This is in gross violation of the ADA and must be fixed. As of now the elevator brings you to the third floor, but you can't get access to the third floor without a key to get through the locked doors. Rebecca told me that once you made it up to the third floor with an employee he or she would leave you with a walkie-talkie to use when you were ready to come back down. Rebecca finds this completely unacceptable.
Aside from the tables and the access issues, the layout of the dining area is incredibly difficult to navigate, especially in peak hours. The stations are set up everywhere throughout the dining area with no apparent rhyme or reason. There were even a few spots I couldn't navigate through. I was told by a Holloway employee that this area is hard to navigate no matter who you are.
According to the ADA "All accessible fixed tables shall be accessible by means of an access aisle at least 36 in (915 mm) clear between parallel edges of tables or between a wall and the table edges." Now, I didn't get out a tape measure to check these spots, but if I can't make it through in my wheelchair then there is no doubt that the access aisle is less than 36 in.
In addition to the troublesome aisles, the stations are relatively high and it is difficult to reach the food. It is also difficult to see exactly what food is being offered.
Rebecca has requested that a menu identifying which stations have food be made available before dining times so that a person in a wheelchair can plan a route ahead of time to ease the journey through the dining area.
There has been no progress yet in making the menu available but we were informed by a Holloway employee that there will be a monitor in place for the spring semester outside of the dining area. The monitor will display what is being offered and at what stations it can be found.
In an attempt to assist the visually impaired, Sorrentino said that there will be over 700 food labels at size 18-point font set up at the food stations. These particular issues are not violations of the ADA, but, again, they put a tremendous strain on the dining experience.
Accessibility problems at Holloway aren't confined to entrances and layout. There are also problems with accessibility to cups, utensils, and condiments.
The cups are placed in a deep container on top of a counter, which is extremely difficult to reach. Once the cups are almost gone there is no way for someone in a wheelchair to reach the cups at the bottom.
The napkin dispenser was originally placed high, but has been moved down to a more accessible location at Rebecca's request.
And finally, the exit door is a heavy, wooden door that I couldn't open. All of the other doors in Holloway have a push button door opening system, so I am hopeful this door will get one as well. Here, again, there is nothing in violation of the ADA but these problems make life difficult for a person in a wheelchair.
Rating the Dining Experience
Overall, the dining experience would rate as less than comfortable. What really irritates me is the fact that this building cost $26.4 million and it is such a mess, especially for people like me, Rebecca, and other physically disabled individuals.
Sorrentino reports she has been trying to make Holloway more accessible for the physically disabled and has told me she will conduct a training session for "all dining staff on the etiquette of meeting, greeting and assisting individuals with disabilities." She also informed me that in addition to this, "the international symbol of accessibility with signage asking 'how can we better serve you' will be strategically placed throughout the Commons."
It helps to know that there plans in place to fix the problems, but for a brand new building to have an entire floor not independently accessible to people who cannot climb a flight of stairs is inexcusable. Holloway Commons is certainly eye candy but less than inviting to the physically disabled. Maybe the next time UNH builds a multi-million dollar facility someone will reach out to the disabled community to address accessibility issues before it is completed.
The problems Rebecca faces may not all be violations of the ADA, but they are still problems. She is a model student at UNH and one of the most active and caring persons I know. At one point on the tour Rebecca made a comment that really hit home with me. She said, "When I ended up in a wheelchair, I didn't expect to become a second class citizen." ADA compliance or not, this statement says it all. |
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Related Stories:
Holloway Commons Photos
Holloway Commons Changes |
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