Disability Access News

The Americans With Disabilities Act is about to get an update, promising increased access to everything from courtrooms to swimming pools. John Dimsdale looks at the cost of the upgrades.

TEXT OF STORY

Kai Ryssdal: The 18-year-old Americans With Disabilities Act is set to get an update. Tomorrow, the Justice Department is expected to propose new rules to give the disabled better access to everything from stores to courtrooms to swimming pools.

Even the government admits though that that's going to come at some cost and our Washington bureau chief John Dimsdale found a difference of opinion as to whether the benefits outweigh 'em.

John Dimsdale: The new rules require courts to make witness stands wheelchair accessible. Stadiums, theaters and auditoriums would have to install more seats for the physically disabled. Hotels would have to lower light switches.

The Justice Department estimates the tab for all this at $23 billion, but Randy Johnson at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce sees an even more costly legal nightmare.

Randy Johnson: Particularly in Florida and California, the trial bar has made a huge amount of money and a large business out of so-called drive-by lawsuits where they go into small businesses and they find a little technical area of compliance and say "Hey, you're out of compliance. You better pay my attorneys' fees or we're going to file a complaint."

Advocates for the disabled say businesses should welcome the more specific guidelines for what's expected of them. Curt Decker is the executive director of the National Disability Rights Network.

Curt Decker: We certainly believe integrating people with disabilities into the community to become employees and to be customers of stores is a beneficial thing not only for people with disabilities but for businesses who want to sell their products.

Final rules are expected this fall. Simultaneously, Congress is considering legislation to reverse court decisions that have limited eligibility for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Decker says returning Iraqi war veterans and aging baby boomers are focusing attention on the need for disability rights.

Decker: It's the one minority group you can become a member of rather quickly.

In Washington, I'm John Dimsdale for Marketplace.

CanadaEast Interactive, Brunswick News Inc

Promoters of this year's Magnetic Hill Music Festival are doing their best to accommodate fans with physical disabilities.

Fans who require a wheelchair or other device for mobility can purchase a special ticket which, for no extra charge, will give them access to a designated wheelchair area at the show. Fans who have already purchased their ticket not knowing this can have their ticket upgraded at no charge, says Jillian Somers, communications officer with the City of Moncton.

The designated wheelchair area is part of the efforts by the City of Moncton and promoters Donald K. Donald to make the music festival more accessible and comfortable for all fans.

More than 40,000 tickets have already been sold for the Aug. 2 concert featuring the Eagles, John Fogerty, K.T. Tunstall and the Sam Roberts Band. Fans are expected from throughout New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and beyond.

Somers said the city and ticket vendors have already received many inquiries about access to the site, bus routes, camping facilities, security rules and other aspects of the outdoor show. Details of these and many other factors are being worked out among various committees and will be made public as the show draws near.

The Times & Transcript plans extensive coverage leading up to the show with an emphasis on providing information for fans unfamiliar with the site. The newspaper is also planning a special edition with photos from the concert for publication on Monday, Aug. 4. Last year, the Times & Transcript published a 24-page special edition with photos and stories from the music festival headlined by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

Somers said promoters also want to "go green" with this event and plans are in motion to have on-site waste separation in keeping with the blue and green system used by the Westmorland-Albert Solid Waste Commission. The system used in Metro Moncton separates dry recyclables into blue bags and wet compostable items into green bags.

As the concert draws nearer, organizers will provide information to fans on transportation routes, bus services, what people can bring to the show, tips on dressing for the weather and other things like picking pre-arranged meeting spots in case you get separated from your group.

Federal Parliament has sped up the process of ratifying the United Nations treaty on the rights of people with a disability in a bid to ensure that Australia can nominate people to be on the panel of experts to implement it.

Human rights commissioner Graeme Innes has urged Parliament's Treaties Committee to take the unusual step of speeding up its finding so Australia can ratify the treaty before July and be able to contribute to the process.

Committee Chairman Kelvin Thomson says the advice has been accepted.

"We recognise that this will truncate the opportunity for interested persons to make submissions about the treaty," he said.

"However, the committee will consider any other issues in the framing of its final report which it intends to table at a later date.

"The committee encourages the Government to ratify the convention as quickly as possible."