There is no sidewalk to the east shelter in West Twin Park. This means the shelter is not accessible to some people with disabilities. It is an example of how citizens of Webster City can help advise the City of Webster City as it updates its Americans with Disabilities Act compliance. If you know of sites or services that are in need of an upgrade, the meeting Jan. 23 at the Webster City Middle School is the place to make your concerns heard.

According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 25% of Americans — 61 million people — are living with a disability.

It may be difficulty in walking, or climbing stairs, blindness or restricted vision, hearing difficulties, a disability requiring use of a wheelchair, or dementia.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — of 1990, makes it illegal to discriminate against those with disabilities in any aspect of public life; work, business, school, transportation, and all places — public or private — open to the general public. Accessibility is a civil right of all

U.S. citizens.

In Webster City, the municipal government is responsible for implementing the ADA. Any city or county receiving federal funds for any reason is required by law to maintain an ADA transition plan with detailed specifications on how it intends to remove barriers to accessibility in the future.

You can play a role in making Webster City more accessible by attending a meeting at the Webster City Middle School commons on Monday, Jan. 23, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Here’s how you can help.

Is there a block in your neighborhood with no sidewalk? Would ramps in a local building be easier for you to use than stairs?

Broken or nonexistent sidewalks or steep curbs are dangerous to the blind, the elderly or infirm, and those people who use wheelchairs or walkers.

Although sidewalk curb cuts are a highly visible example of accessibility, other kinds of infrastructure many people wouldn’t even notice can also present dangerous barriers. Absence of computer-

to-telephone emergency services, for example, may prevent someone with a speech or hearing impairment from calling 911 in a life-threatening emergency.

If you have encountered, or know of barriers like these, you’re invited to share them during the meeting. It’s your chance to ensure they’re

listed, prioritized and removed, as budgets allow.

The city has hired design and engineering consulting firm Snyder & Associates, Ankeny, to manage a project to develop an inventory of barriers in public places, prioritize and put them into the city’s ADA transition plan. Representatives from Snyder will be at the meeting Jan. 23 to hear citizens’ specific concerns and suggestions for improved accessibility.

Webster City’s first ADA transition plan was adopted in 1995, and has not been revised since.

The process requires a minimum of four steps:

Identifying physical obstructions;

Describing in detail the methods to make the facilities accessible; Developing a schedule for compliance;

Identifying a coordinator who’s responsible for ADA compliance in Webster City.

Two more steps are required for full ADA compliance:

Development of a grievance procedure to review complaints;

A public involvement and community awareness effort to regularly inform citizens of progress of the transition plan.