This article came from the Daily Southtown
Little Company says it has plenty of disabled parking
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
By Stephanie Gehring
Staff writer
Little Company of Mary Hospital is on the right track toward satisfying the parking needs of people with disabilities, according to a member of an advocacy group.
"They made a lot of improvements. The handicapped parking is much better," said Linda Stearns of Unified Voice of Disabled America.
Stearns' group recently singled-out the Evergreen Park hospital, saying its handicapped-accessible parking did not meet standards.
Stearns and hospital vice president Dennis Day met Wednesday.
"I was pleased with what they did," Stearns said after the meeting.
Earlier this month the hospital added three accessible spots and ensured all of their spaces were 16 feet across as required by law.
Stearns had visited the hospital on Easter and complained most handicapped spaces were not wide enough for a wheelchair lift to be used. The hospital also fell short in the number of parking spaces for people with disabilities, the group said.
Day said the hospital worked hard to improve its access for patients and visitors with disabilities.
"I think we made good progress," Day said.
By law, all handicapped parking spaces must be 16 feet wide and facilities that provide parking for employees and visitors must have a certain number of parking spaces.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, facilities with more than 1,000 spaces should have 20 handicapped parking spaces and one for each 100 over 1,000 spaces.
Day said the hospital exceeds the number of required spaces and all the spots meet ADA requirements.
The hospital presented Stearns with photos and maps of the hospital's parking.
The hospital now offers 31 disabled parking spaces out of 1,241 spaces, Day said.
"It's a step in the right direction," Stearns said. "Months ago we didn't even have that."
Stearns said she was unsure if the hospital had the correct number of spots. There is a chance the hospital and Stearns' group were using two different formulas, she said.
Day said the hospital also plans to re-stripe the hospital's east lot at 95th Street and California Avenue and possibly put in more handicapped spaces.
Stearns said she would take the information back to her board.
No more meetings between Stearns and Day are scheduled.
In the meantime, Stearns said, the village continues to survey parking.
"They're checking in the village to make sure it's proper," Stearns said. "The mayor was very accommodating. He's out there making sure everything is right."
Stephanie Gehring may be reached at sgehring@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5971.