Mayor to announce committee on disabled issues

By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff

Mayor Thomas M. Menino is scheduled today to announce the formation of an advisory committee for issues faced by the disabled, city officials said.

The announcement comes on the 18th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A majority of the five- to nine-member committee will be disabled people, and one will be an immediate family member of someone who is disabled, officials said.

The city has been criticized in recent years for not being responsive enough to the needs of the disabled, with one neighborhood group staging repeated protests about the city's bumpy brick sidewalks and a certain stretch of Huntington Avenue that presents problems for people in wheelchairs to navigate.

As part of today's announcement, scheduled for 2 p.m. at City Hall, the mayor will unveil plans to fix that stretch of Huntington Avenue and dedicate $50 million to fix curb cuts and pedestrian ramps throughout the city that currently do not comply with the ADA, city officials said.

The new committee, which will advise the city on both existing issues and future projects, will be unpaid.

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.

• Comment
• Permalink
• Email