Ann Arbor hotel settles ADA complaint

From the Ann Arbor News in Michigan:

A hotel on Ann Arbor's north side has agreed to make numerous changes to improve access for the disabled and to resolve alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan on Wednesday announced a settlement agreement with the Hampton Inn Ann Arbor-North, at 4300 Green Road.

Authorities in 2007 identified 141 barriers to access at the hotel. Improvements will be made to the parking lot, entrance, meeting rooms, eating areas, drinking fountains, and restrooms. Five hotel rooms will be modified - with two of those getting roll-in showers for wheelchair users. Visual fire alarms and Braille floor designators will be added in the hotel.

Judy Levy, an attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office, said the hotel owners, identified as AAN Inc. in the agreement, cooperated and wanted to resolve the problems. Although the hotel was built before the 1990 law was enacted, the law requires businesses open to the public to remove barriers to access for the disabled when readily achievable.

"There's a lot of work to do to educate companies about their obligations under the ADA," said Levy, "and hotels are one of those entities that have a lot of work to do."

A general manager at the hotel said she couldn't comment.

The U.S. Attorney's Office became involved after an Ann Arbor native, Gary Talbot, filed a complaint with the Department of Justice. Talbot, a 1994 graduate of the University of Michigan, encountered problems at the hotel when he returned to Ann Arbor to attend a Michigan football game in 2006.

Talbot, who has used a wheelchair since an automobile accident in 1980, said he nearly tipped over twice as he tried to navigate around non-compliant curb ramps between the parking lot and hotel entrance. Then he faced a steep incline leading to the front door, forcing him to generate such a head of steam that he nearly smashed through the door. Inside, the hotel room was "an absolute disaster," he said. The arrangement and dimensions of furniture made it difficult to use the bathroom or get into bed.

Talbot lives in the Boston area and works as the assistant general manager for system-wide accessibility at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. In 2004 he was appointed by then President Bush to the U.S. Access Board, the independent federal agency committed to accessibility for people with disabilities.

Talbot said he is thrilled with the agreement reached between the Justice Department and the Ann Arbor hotel.

"This is how you send a strong message to the industry," he said.