WASHINGTON — While the nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, bus stops in our area are failing to meet the law’s important standards.
Most bus stops in Arlington, Virginia present barriers to someone in a wheelchair. The Washington Post reports that 67 percent of the Arlington bus stops are not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The bus stops require improvements ranging from removing a sidewalk obstruction to major construction of pedestrian pathways and a 5-foot-by-8-foot landing pad.
Arlington has sharply boosted spending on bus stop improvements.
It’s a far different story across the Potomac River, where most of Montgomery County’s 3,400 bus stops have undergone $11 million worth of upgrades.
Looking at bus stops throughout the region, Metro estimates that about 34 percent of its 19,000 bus stops are inaccessible to wheelchair users, despite the promise of the disabilities act.
