Medford Awarded $90K Grant To Update ADA Access Plan

MEDFORD, MA — The city has secured nearly $90,000 in a Municipal ADA Improvement Grant from the Massachusetts Office on Disability, according to Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn. The funding will be primarily used to create a new self-evaluation and transition plan to support improvement projects related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The city was awarded funding through the planning category of the grant program. According to the announcement, planning grants are awarded for creating or updating a Self-Evaluation or Transition Plan as required under Title II of the ADA. A Self-Evaluation/Transition Plan is described as a comprehensive review of all programs, activities and services offered by the city, along with the actions it will take to make them accessible.

The Municipal ADA Improvement Grant provides funding to Massachusetts cities and towns to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. The program supports updates to a municipality’s ADA Self Evaluation and Transition plans and also helps fund capital improvements that improve access or remove barriers in municipal programs, services and facilities.

“It’s critical that our community is able to access and engage with all of our programming, services and resources,” Lungo-Koehn said. “This funding will help us strengthen our accessible offerings and allow us to create a new self-evaluation and transition plan that moves us closer to removing all barriers."

She gave credit to the city's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office for securing the grant. DEI Director Frances Nwajei said the award will support the city’s ADA work beyond the immediate planning process.

“This funding will support our ADA improvement goals for years to come,” Nwajei said. “Thank you to the Medford Commission for Persons with Disabilities and the Institute for Human Centered Design for their support with this grant and continued partnership.”

Applications for the funding were scored on a competitive basis. Grants were awarded to projects that demonstrate tangible impacts for people with disabilities. The selection committee was made up of people with disabilities, accessible design professionals and staff from the Massachusetts Office on Disability.

The new plan is expected to guide future improvement projects tied to accessibility in city programs, services and facilities. A timeline for completing the self-evaluation and transition plan has not yet been revealed.

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