HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Harrisonburg community is invited to participate in a public open house relating to the City’s soon to be adopted ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) Transition Plan for public transportation facilities.

Harrisonburg Public Works will host an open house to discuss the plan on Thursday, March 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and again from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Harrisonburg City Hall Council Chambers, 409 S. Main St. Community members will be able to learn about current efforts, ask questions and provide feedback on ADA accessibility in Harrisonburg. ASL interpretation will be available at both open house events.

The Harrisonburg Public Works transportation planning division has been working on an ADA Transition Plan for the public right-of-way to document current accessibility deficiencies and establish policies and procedures to make transportation facilities in Harrisonburg accessible to all, regardless of ability, over time. This work looks at all pedestrian infrastructure types including walkways (sidewalks and shared use paths), intersections (curb ramps, crosswalks and pedestrian signals), on-street parking, bus stops, work zones, etc.

“As we navigate through annual paving, maintenance schedules and capital projects, we feel that it is our responsibility to move forward with updating current transportation and pedestrian infrastructure to be ADA accessible,” Harrisonburg Public Works Planning Manager Erin Yancey said. “This (ADA Transition) Plan will be helpful in ensuring we are focused on constantly identifying accessibility needs in existing infrastructure, meeting standards in new projects and evolving to make Harrisonburg accessible and the friendliest city possible for all our community members and visitors.”

Attendees of the open house will have the opportunity to:

• View educational displays about the ADA Transition Plan
• View the City’s ADA Self Evaluation Data
• Speak directly with City staff about the plan and current content
• Share specific accessibility-related experiences with public transportation facilities and express thoughts and questions through a public questionnaire that will be available during and after the event

More information about the ADA Transition Plan may be found online at https://harrisonburgva.gov/ADA-transition-plan.