Cincinnati is requiring public events to be more accessible. The changes come after several people supported by LADD — an organization that helps adults with developmental disabilities live independently — contacted Council member Victoria Parks following one of the city's biggest annual events last year.
"They went to the Flying Pig Marathon and could not find a bathroom where somebody in a wheelchair would find accessibility," Parks explains. "I was there, too, and it did not occur to me, but this is very important, and so the administration got together, and now we're going to make it happen."
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The new rules include:
- Requiring written information on accommodations available, including locations of accessible toilets; and directions for contacting professional staff if problems arise.
- Required signage at all privy areas directing people to accessible portable toilets.
- The Office of Special Events must provide event hosts with updated accessibility guidance.
- Event producers must designate and provide contact information for accessibility complaints during an event.
- The city should implement a system for event attendees to report issues through 311.
- The Office of Aging and Accessibility to offer a "resource guide" of best practices and vendors who provide accommodations that meet accessibility requirements.
Annie Callan and Jennifer Crowe returned to Council Feb. 5 to applaud the accessibility motion, and encourage Council members to fight for all in the community.
"We are here to congratulate you on making things more accessible to people with disabilities, but remember, we serve all peoples, Black, white, Caucasian, Palestinian, Israeli," said Crowe. "Everybody deserves a vote. Please stand for our country and keep on doing the things that you can. Accessibility can be better for everybody if we have we have more benches, we have more [portable toilets]. We have ramps and theaters and restaurants. That is a start, but we will continue fighting for all people."
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"I really want for the mayor and everybody who's here today to continue doing all the hard work that you have done," added Callan. "Please give people with disabilities a chance to help others. And I beg that we can make our community safe by adding more busses, more accessibility for people to work in a lot of different places, especially in restaurants, especially for me, because I work in a restaurant and I want to see restaurants [be more accessible]."
