The Town underwent a study to look at our operations and facilities for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance started in 2021 and completed June 2023. The ADA requires the Town, as a public agency, to complete a self evaluation and create an ADA transition plan. The Town hired a consultant, Stewart Engineering, to create a plan of what facilities, policies, programs, communications, and services need to be improved to promote accessibility to all community members.

The Transition Plan looked at four categories:

1. Facilities. Each facility open to the public including buildings, playgrounds, greenways, and parking lots.

2. Policies. Town policies around accessibility concerns and complaints.

3. Town communications. How the Town communicates with the community including public meetings, media, and emergency messaging.

4. Services, Activities and Programs. Town programs from summer camps to book lending to EZ Rider transit.

What was the result?

Stewart Engineering put together all the information on the above categories in a length document, the ADA Transition Plan. The Town did fairly well on our self-assessment but still has a lot of work to do. 

What is next?

The Town will implement the Transition Plan over the next 3-5 years. Many of the improvements will take large construction projects like rebuilding sidewalks but others will be done very quickly. 

Questions?

Contact Sarah Poulton (spoulton@townofchapelhill.org, 919-969-5009) with questions about the Transition Plan and Wade Gulledge (wgulledge@townofchapelhill.org, 919-919-5118) for other ADA-related questions.