The Americans with Disabilities Act was an important step for securing equal access. But one advocate says the work doesn't stop there.
Heart of Illinois Special Recreation Association (HISRA) executive director Katie Van Cleve said the law had a transformative impact, but it establishes a baseline, not a ceiling for inclusivity.
"The ADA helps prevent some discrimination against people with disabilities. It sets some programmatic standards, some physical accessibility standards. However, it does not really include people. People include people. So we've got to think past the ADA, so to speak," she said.
HISRA works with the Peoria, Washington, Morton, and Chillicothe park districts to create recreational programming for people with disabilities and special needs.
Van Cleve said the Peoria Park District's process to replace the aging Tricentennial playground at Glen Oak Park with a new "fully accessible" playground is a good example of going beyond ADA requirements to make an environment inclusive.
"They brought together a group of folks who had disabilities themselves, represented organizations that served people with disabilities, (who) could really look at that from all angles," she said.
Van Cleve said she does have some concerns about the proposed Peoria Riverfront master plan's accommodations for people with disabilities.
"They keep describing it as a 30,000 foot view. But what I can see from 30,000 feet is that we haven't spent a lot of time thinking about who will include the entire community in this amazing developed space," she said.
The concept includes a number of features, including a kayak launch, barge park, and a dog park. Van Cleve said she hopes policymakers keep universal design in mind when making their decisions about how to reconfigure the riverfront space.
Van Cleve said efforts focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion should make sure people with disabilities have a seat at the table.
"There's no group that is unimportant, but I think oftentimes people with disabilities are not included in those efforts. So that is a really important part of that effort," she said. "And quite frankly, people with disabilities are the largest minority group in Illinois. So not including them is truly not a complete DEI effort."
