Reaction has been strong to a part of the proposed Theatre Commons project here on the Seattle Center Campus. I was first made aware of the changes it would require to existing handicapped parking spaces serving the north area of Campus, when the article appeared in the Seattle Times. I am chagrined to admit that I didn’t think to examine the Seattle Center Master Plan for accessibility issues, although we have been working to address some (current) access issues at the Center House and with the Access Transportation service directly. We have found the Center Staff to be very willing to address our concerns, and I do believe there is a commitment to equal access at Seattle Center.
However, I also believe that many things about the decision to remove the 13 accessible parking spaces to make way for a memorial garden for arts patron Peter Donnelly, reveal a fundamental lack of commitment to equal access on the planning level. It is simply not enough to work to find alternative spaces; there must be a fundamental commitment to make accessibility a PRIORITY, not an accommodation.
Seattle Center Director, Robert Nellams, has acknowledged that there could have been better communication around these changes and has pledged to working with the disability community to resolve concerns. I have sent letters to both he and City Council member Tom Rasmussen (who chairs the Council committee overseeing the Center), offering my assistance in their efforts and I hope they will take me up on that offer. I’ll let you know.
As I wrote in a recent Letter to the Editor, Seattle Times, :
The best way to memorialize Peter Donnelly is to remain dedicated to providing equal access to the arts at Seattle Center. The very idea that it would be OK to relocate handicapped parking spaces further away from the venues they serve, calls into question the Seattle Center’s commitment to accessibility.
Patrons of the Seattle Rep, Opera, Intiman, and Seattle Center in general, have already expressed strong objections to the options being proposed. The upcoming years of construction on Mercer also cannot be ignored – would that proposed drop-off area even continue to be available? What of the path between the garage and the center grounds? Construction will surely bring changing -and inaccessible – pedestrian routes. As already scarce parking becomes non-existent, maintaining dedicated handicapped parking spaces should be the Center’s overriding priority.
Surely there is a rational argument to be made that accessibility for citizens is a higher use for precious space than landscaping, however well-intentioned the memorial garden. I do not presume to speak for the man who epitomized an individual’s commitment to bring the arts to all in our community, but I cannot believe Peter Donnelly would approve.
The Seattle Center has “graciously” agreed to have some onstreet parking converted to handicap only for certain events. This is a cruel joke for those who are mobility impaired. We used the parking on 3rd between Roy and Mercer when the handicap lot was closed for Bumbershoot. The “sidewalks” along the east side are crumbling, uneven, and generally unusable for anyone in wheelchairs, walkers, or power chairs. Even sober, agile folks can easily be tripped by the ragged, uplifted concrete sidewalk along that street. There are no curb cutouts at the parking to allow a lift to load/unload out of the street right of way anyone who must use such a device to exit their vehicle. The Center should be called out on their lack of ability to appreciate challenges to their handicapped patrons that their inadequate “accommodations” are presenting.