02/01/2021
January 29, 2021
On behalf of the Winona Human Rights Commission we urge the City Council to move forward with the Broadway Road Project.
In general, we support the project because it will make the corridor a safer place for drivers, for pedestrians, and for people utilizing other modes of transportation. However, this Project will also assist the City in becoming compliant with the Americans for Disabilities Act by providing funding to update all of the sidewalk corners along the entire corridor of Broadway from Sioux Street to Mankato Avenue. If the project doesn’t move forward now, using the grant funding already applied for and available, these basic accessibility features for 100 crossings could be delayed for up to 30 years! That’s $1 million dollars for ADA compliance that would have to come out of the Winona budget rather than from Federal and State grant funding.
It is a Human Right to be safe, and the Minnesota’s Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based upon disability or age. Accessible curbs and sidewalks for individuals with disabilities, elderly individuals, and young children make Broadway and the City of Winona safer for everyone. We have an opportunity through this well-researched project to use available federal and state funding that will not take away from other necessary City projects or maintenance.
Again, we ask you to vote to move forward with the project. This is an opportunity we should not shrug away.
Sincerely,
Jacob Grippen
Chair
Maurella Cunningham
Vice Chair
Jocylyn Poehler
Secretary
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MrdfvqC4kg9OU2Hnmzq1iipU_UAEzNNc/view?usp=drivesdk