KALAMAZOO, MI – Four cities have reached settlements for having rail stations in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan announced the settlements Thursday, Feb. 9, with Kalamazoo, Holland, Bangor and Dowagiac and the Michigan Department of Transportation. They all need to resolve the ADA violations, a news release said.
Over the next three years, each location will need to make their intercity rail stations accessible, according to the release. Those changes include modifying parts of the station, parking lots, waiting areas, restrooms and platforms.
Related: Kalamazoo to consider settlement with feds over disability act non-compliance
Issues at the Kalamazoo station, 459 N. Burdick St., included the fact that there was no accessible route to the building’s accessible entrance from the public right of way, public transit, accessible parking and passenger loading, MLive previously reported.
There were also no accessible toilet rooms at the Kalamazoo station.
The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement in December 2020 with Amtrak about accessibility and all of those changes are designed to ensure people with disabilities have equal access to transportation, the release said.
Kalamazoo received notice in January 2021 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office about the ADA compliance review.
Kalamazoo city commissioners received the proposed settlement in May 2022. The city owns the station and is responsible for it, previous reporting said.
The Central County Transportation Authority has been in the building since October 2016 and is responsible for the cost of bringing the premises into ADA compliance, under the terms of the lease. The city is responsible for the public streets and sidewalks near the station, according to previous reporting.
The station was built in 1887, according to the Kalamazoo Public Library. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 11, 1975, according to Kalamazoo Metro. Work was carried out in 2006 to make it multi-modal.
“It is also an historic building which was thought to be exempt from some ADA standards,” city staff wrote in the May 2022 agenda packet.
The building’s occupant, Central County Transportation Authority, regularly consults with the Disability Network to address disability issues, according to the city.
“Therefore, the notice of non-compliance came as a surprise,” the agenda packet said.
Letters from the U.S. Attorney’s Office to Battle Creek and Grand Rapids fixed issues with ADA compliance at those rail stations, the release said.
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