Elizabeth Weiner, Current Newspapers
October 21, 2009
Plans to expand and update the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library caused more protests yesterday, with a group of seniors and disabled residents saying a proposed 100-foot ramp that would wrap around the building would hinder access and demean them by leading to an entrance in the rear.
“The proposed renovation project will treat the disability community disparately, forcing library users with disabilities to enter at the rear,” said a statement from the D.C.-based Equal Rights Center.
Seniors from nearby Harvard Towers and Sarah’s Circle, many in wheelchairs, joined the protest in front of the library at 16th and Lamont streets.
Protest organizers, including the D.C. Library Renaissance Project, said the height of the ramp, roughly 7 feet at its peak, would be difficult to negotiate. The historic library, built in 1925, currently has a shorter ramp leading down to an entrance at the library’s front.
The planning process for expanding Ward 1’s only public library has been turbulent. The beloved Carnegie building is part of a historic district and sits on a tight site that leaves little room for an addition. Some residents said they were left out of the early design meetings.
Library spokesperson George Williams said the library system prefers to have only one entrance to each library. But proposals to remove the broad steps in front of the building to provide better access for disabled patrons, or to place a ramp on the building’s front face, were rejected, in part due to preservation concerns.
Williams said the D.C. Office of Disability Rights has reviewed the latest design and found it in compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.
The city Historic Preservation Review Board is slated to review the design at its monthly meeting Thursday.
-Elizabeth Wiener
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