City, parks district reviewing ADA transition plans

Published 1:30 am Thursday, August 28, 2025

Bainbridge Island residents celebrated the accomplishments of the disability rights movement July 26, but despite making strides, the island still has a ways to go.

July 26 was the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a bedrock piece of civil rights legislation that enshrined equal access to public facilities and employment for people with disabilities in law. The BI Senior Community Center hosted a small party, a film screening and trivia for about 40 people.

“One of the things we heard from a couple of folks was, from the point of view of people with a disability, they think of the ADA as the floor,” said Reed Price, director of BISCC, in a podcast. “That’s the minimum, that we should be able to inclusively engage everybody in our community in participation and community activities.”

At the same time, the city of Bainbridge and the BI Metro Parks and Recreation District have each begun reviewing their ADA transition plans and soliciting public input. The public agencies have combined their surveys to simplify the process for respondents — and added functions like an interactive map where people can drop a pin and describe an obstacle they face in the area.

The goal is to improve both the physical accessibility of public spaces and ease of use of municipal services. In infrastructure terms, it will likely look like an inventory of physical barriers, said Peter PE Corelis, city engineer.

“We need to get out there and understand where we score right now — where do we rank, do we have a lot of barriers in the community affecting our accessible pathways in our city facilities, in our public buildings?” said Corelis. “Sidewalks, crosswalk push buttons, pedestrian ramps, how much force do you need to open a door, ingress and egress scope; a lot of land to cover some specific areas of where to cover.”

In her years of disability activism, longtime Kitsap resident Marsha Cutting has seen the greatest improvements for accessibility in parks, both public and private, she said. Bainbridge saw Kitsap’s first all-ages, all-abilities playground, which paved the way for several others around the county. Ilahee Preserve, a nature area just north of Bremerton, now has accessible trails. The Bloedel Reserve has made “significant improvements,” with updates to its map to reflect the grade and material of trails, programming for disabled visitors and a wheelchair-accessible shuttle.

“I think one of the challenges going forward is a federal government that seems to have decided that people with disabilities should not be accommodated and is intent on rolling back accessibility requirements. Locally, I think that our challenge is for all of us to become familiar with the full range of disabilities, particularly those that are not visible, and what accommodations are needed,” said Cutting. “We also need to figure out how to deal with conflicting access needs, and we need to build connections between the different disability communities so that we can work together.”

Peggy Muir, a BI resident, also celebrated BI’s accessible parks, but she saw some room for improvement. Beachside wheelchair access is needed; trails in parks like Gazzam Lake Nature Preserve and Pritchard Park could use some grading; more bathrooms could be useful in the Grand Forest; and outdoor covered areas like picnic shelters at Blakely Harbor Park could be beneficial for sun and rain protection.

It’s about perspective, Muir emphasized: she recalled working on a rail-trail project in Maine in which many leaders were thinking of active trail users, like “through-bikers,” but she was among the few advocates for people moving more slowly.

“When the parks people think about walkers and hikers, there are the people who can go 200 yards and then want to stop,” said Muir. “It’s not that they don’t want to get outside. It’s just that they can’t go.”

City and park officials are aware that accessibility issues may require solutions that go beyond the physical realm, said Anshu Wahi, city equity and inclusion manager, and Matthew Keough, park district senior planner.

Park commissioners gave explicit directions to “go above and beyond the ADA,” said Keough, which includes reviewing barriers to participation in park services, like classes, programs and events.

“It’s awareness that we’re really building here, and a learning process for all involved. There could be individuals who are just very interested in the subject, and they’re more than welcome to ask questions that help us all address the issues,” Keough said. “They’re really looking for a welcoming environment. I think it’s broader than what is typical with physical improvements.”

Wahi added that if respondents are given the ability to explain their experiences, that could be a valuable addition to the quantitative data.

“That helps us go beyond the floor,” Wahi added. “You need some qualitative data to inject some humanity into this process. Things become so bureaucratic, and this is a real opportunity to hear from people and to put a lens of equity in everything that we’re doing.”

But some of the biggest issues for disabled BI residents may not even fall into the island agency’s jurisdiction.

Both Cutting and Muir said that traveling by foot on the ferry between BI and Seattle is one of the most challenging ways to get around for a person with limited mobility.

The long hallways without resting points at both terminals, the lack of handrails and explanatory signage inside the ferry, and the crush of passengers can be prohibitive, Muir observed. There’s also no Braille on signs around the terminals, noted Cutting.

“Unless you’re disabled, you don’t realize how long these distances are,” said Muir.