2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 Mayor’s Disability Council
Gavin Newsom
Mayor
Susan Mizner
Director
Jul Lynn Parsons
F. Ross Woodall
Co-Chairs
Raphaella Bennin
Benito Casados
Harriet Chiu Chan
Joseph Fong
Elizabeth Grigsby
Tatiana Kostanian
Sarah Estes Merrell
Denise Senhaux
Vincent Webster
Mayor’s Disability Council
Minutes
20 February 2009
1 ROLL CALL
Mayor’s Disability Council Members Present: Raphaella Bennin, Joseph Fong, Elizabeth Grigsby, Tatiana Kostanian, Sarah Estes Merrell, Jul Lynn Parsons, Denise Senhaux (via bridge line), Vincent Webster and F. Ross Woodall.
Excused Absence: Benito Casados and Harriet Chiu Chan
Mayor’s Office on Disability: Susan Mizner, Director; John Paul Scott, Deputy Director for Physical Access; Ken Stein, Program Administrator; and Howard O. Wong, Council Clerk.
F. Ross Woodall, Co-Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m.
2 APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The Council approved the agenda of the February 20, 2009 MDC Meeting.
3 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
The Council approved the Minutes from the January 16, 2009 Meeting.
4 PUBLIC COMMENT
Judith Viar spoke about her frustration in getting the appropriate taxi cab, specifically a sedan, for herself due to her disability. Ms. Viar is requesting a restructuring of the taxi cab codes for seniors and people with disabilities to ensure improved access.
William Farrell spoke about the ignorance of the general public, who call people with disabilities “retard”. He urged the disability community to speak up and become advocates for each other.
Bob Planthold suggested that MTA should provide more training to drivers on enforcing the policy to yield seats in the front of the bus to people with disabilities, and recommended that there be public service announcements from the Mayor. Susan Mizner, Director of MOD, responded that MOD is currently working with MTA on PSA and training videos which will be broadcast on the SFGTV Channel.
Walter Paulson expressed his sadness over the recent passing of his friend, Max Wilson, who was a teacher at Aptos Middle School. Also, he noted that the new digital TV converters make the TV volume barely audible, making it difficult for people who are hard of hearing.
5 REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
Co-Chair Woodall reported that there would be no report from the Physical Access and Disability Disaster Preparedness Committees because there were no meetings in February. He said both committees will resume meeting in March. He also welcomed back Co-Chair Parsons.
6 REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE MAYOR’S OFFICE ON DISABILITY
Ms. Mizner reported on the following:
* Budget Update – Both the State budget and the Federal Economic Stimulus package were just passed. The Stimulus package includes 80 million dollars to states for Medicaid; 680 million dollars for rehabilitation services, and additional items that should assist people with disabilities. The impact on people with disabilities from the State budget was still too soon to outline. The local budget continues to have discouraging news, with revenue even lower than the worst case estimates. For the effect on the Capital Budget dedicated to physical access improvements, Ms. Mizner turned the mike over to Deputy Director, John Paul Scott, who reported on specific projects that will be postponed because of the budget crisis.
* Representative from the White House – President Obama has appointed Kareem Dale, a person with a disability, as Special Assistant on Disability Issues. Mr. Dale is hoping to hear from anyone with a disability who has received or returned to a job because of the President’s Economic Stimulus Package.
* Complaints Update – MOD has received and resolved complaints regarding providing reasonable accommodations at the homeless shelters. MOD staff and interns continue to work hard to provide services and resources to the public inspite of the budget cuts.
* MOD Staff Update - Joanna Fraguli, Deputy Director of Programmatic Access, continues on medical leave but her condition is improving.
7 2009 ACCESS ADVISORS OPEN HOUSE AND DISABILITY ARTS FESTIVAL. PRESENTATION BY CHARLIE DORRIS, ACCESS ADVISOR.
Mr. Dorris announced that the Fine Arts Museums of S.F. has invited the disability community to its Open House at the de Young Museum on Saturday March 28, from 10 AM to 3 PM. Activities include docent tours of the museum's collections, an art-making studio, a disability culture presentation, and performances of dance, music, and poetry. Admission is free if reservations are made before March 20th. For reservations, requests for accommodations, or additional information, contact Tish Brown at (415) 750-7645 or email [email protected].
8 INTRODUCING THE SFPARK SMART PARKING MANAGEMENT PROGRAM – SF MTA’S NEW APPROACH TO PARKING MANAGEMENT. PRESENTATION BY JAY PRIMUS, SFPARK MANAGER, SFMTA.
Jay Primus, Project Manager for Municipal Transportation Authority (MTA), reported that the SFpark projects include parking management, better parking information, and increased enforcement. New approaches for parking management include installing new meters that will make it possible to pay with a credit or debit card instead of using coins, longer time limits and demand-responsive pricing. Also, they are working on parking sensors that indicate if there are available parking spaces.
Mr. Primus spoke about parking information being made available via the internet, iphones, and variable message signs assisting people to make more informed travel decisions. He spoke about the goals and benefits of reduced congestion, improved safety and improved parking availability. All of this would make Muni more reliable, faster and more environmentally-friendly in terms of reducing green house gas emissions.
Funds are needed to provide new equipment and new technology to carry out these projects. Mr. Primus pointed out that funding will in large part come from the Federal Government with approximately 20 million dollars to provide approximately 6,000 metered spaces or about 25% of the city’s on-street metered supply. They are hoping to begin installing them in the summer of this year.
Another of their initiatives has to do with how they manage accessible parking, and the fraudulent use of disabled placards. Mr. Primus admitted that they don’t know the true extent of placard abuse. Currently, MTA has been working with the State to develop legislation on changing the citation fines and increasing enforcing. MTA is also planning to seek input from the disability community so as to develop a broad coalition and more holistic approach to problem solving.
In response to Council member questions, Mr. Primus did explain that charging placard holders for parking is something the MTA is considering.
9 THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL STANDARDS FOR ACCESSIBLE DESTINATION-BASED ELEVATOR SYSTEMS AND RESOLUTION SUPPORTING ADOPTION. PRESENTATION BY WALTER PARK, SF ACCESS APPEALS COMMISSION AND JESSIE LORENZ, LIGHTHOUSE FOR THE BLIND.
Walter Park, SF Access Appeals Commission, spoke about how the elevator has come a long way, from being a manual lift, to operating with electronic buttons. Mr. Park explained how destination-based elevators (DBE) can be accessible to people with disabilities. DBE have a telephone keypad, where instead of pressing up and down, they have a LCD screen and speaker. If one wants to go to the 12th floor, one would type in 1, 2, in the keypad and an audio sound will speak out the floor number requested. Then one proceeds to the elevator where it will go to that particular floor only. Mr. Park listed many of the advantages including less wasted time, faster rides, less crowded elevators, and energy savings.
Mr. Park and the SF Access Appeals Commission have been working with contractors to make the systems more accessible. He stated there are many variables to consider including the voice quality, loud speaker system, problems arising from the confusion with some of the similar sounds including “B” “C”, “D” and “E”. Mr. Park noted that the technology appears to have gotten ahead of the standards. The manufacturers and installers will comply with the national standards, but lack knowledge on accessibility standards, so the Commission is working with them to make the access features better and more cost-effective. They are still working on their draft and seeking input from the community.
Jessie Lorenz of the LightHouse for the Blind expressed her hope that this new assistive technology would be accessible to people with disabilities, particularly those with vision loss.
Ms. Lorenz stated that she is optimistic because the elevator industry has been working collaboratively with the disability community and the City’s Department of Building Inspection to make it accessible. Some of the things that they are working on are signage; developing the Adjacency System, and other accessible features. She said that the SF Access Appeals Commission has come up with their latest draft (see attached) with revisions that will lead the way nationally in terms of accessibility.
9A INTRODUCTION OF MAYOR’S DISABILITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION ENDORSING DESTINATION-BASED ELEVATORS AND ACCESSIBILITY ADMINISTRATIVE BULLETIN AB-090.
Council members said that they would like a tour with a demonstration, which Mr. Park will arrange at a future date. The council discussed some amendments to the resolution (see attached) and voted on it. The MDC members voted unanimously to support it.
Art Karshner, a professor at University of San Francisco, inquired about different languages including Cantonese and Spanish, for different users as another feature for the elevators. Mr. Park responded that it is not an accessibility issue, but it can be added on, depending on the requests from the public.
Linda Porelle, California Council of the Blind, expressed her gratitude to Mr. Park and the SF Access Appeals Commission for working so diligently on the destination-based elevators because it will benefit many in the disability community.
10 CORRESPONDENCE
No correspondence.
11 PUBLIC COMMENT
Elizabeth Dawson expressed concern about how the budget deficit will affect the disability community in health programs and human services.
12 COUNCIL MEMBERS COMMENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Council Member Merrell urged the public to attend the next regularly scheduled Disability Disaster Preparedness Committee Meeting on Friday, March 6th. She noted that the meeting will be staffed by new MOD staff member, Carla Johnson, an Access Compliance Officer and Emergency Planner. The agenda for that meeting include emergency planning and reviewing the Committee’s work this past year and developing new goals for 2009.
Co-Chair Woodall announced that the LightHouse for the Blind will be holding a seminar on accessible cell phones on Tuesday, March 24th. For more info, call 888/400-8933 and/or visit www.lighthouse-sf.org
13 ADJOURNMENT
Co-Chair Woodall adjourned the meeting at 4:00PM.
RESOLUTION #2009-01
San Francisco Mayor's Disability Council Resolution
Endorsing the Accessibility of Destination-Based Elevators
WHEREAS, San Francisco has a long history of leadership in the development of assistive technologies for persons with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, these technologies include physically accessible automated street toilets, kiosks, and news racks; talking Automatic Teller Machines accessible to blind persons; accessible talking door entry systems now in use at San Francisco public housing projects; and accessible audible pedestrian crossing signals at hundreds of San Francisco street corners; and
WHEREAS, elevators are a critical assistive technology in all high-rise buildings; and
WHEREAS, a new type of elevator user control technology, destination-dispatch elevator control, is now being introduced in scores of San Francisco buildings; and
WHEREAS, these destination-dispatch elevators provide many benefits including reduced energy usage, reduced environmental impact, reduced floor footprint per passenger served, reduced costs, improved customer service, reduced waiting times, more pleasant travel, and shorter, more direct travel routes; and
WHEREAS, San Francisco is a densely populated city with a strong interest in supporting technologies that improve the use of scarce downtown commercial and residential spaces and the conservation of energy in that use; and
WHEREAS, destination-dispatch elevators can create new accessibility problems for people who are blind, have low vision, or have cognitive impairments;
WHEREAS, elevator technology has raced ahead of Federal and state elevator regulation, which does not yet adequately mandate accessibility; and
WHEREAS, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection, the San Francisco Access Appeals Commission, important blindness organizations including the San Francisco LightHouse for the Blind, and the California Council of the Blind, and many individuals with disabilities, all of the major U.S. and international elevator corporations and consultants, the major elevator industry association, and building owners have been working together to examine accessibility issues and develop accessibility standards; and
WHEREAS, the contributions of nationally known accessibility, ergonomics, and vision and acoustics experts including the Smith-Kettelwell Eye Research Institute of San Francisco, TRACE Research of the University of Wisconsin, and C.M. Salter Associates have provided technical rigor in developing accessibility standards; and
WHEREAS, this process has unfolded over a period of over a year through a lengthy series of public meetings and hearings conducted by the Access Appeals Commission; and
WHEREAS, the Commission is about to adopt its final draft recommendations incorporating these standards into Administrative Bulletin AB-090;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor's Disability Council recognizes and appreciates the sustained efforts of those public, non-profit, and private organizations and individuals involved in this comprehensive development process; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, the Mayor's Disability Council supports the adoption of standards being developed by the Department of Building Inspection, the Access Appeals Commission, and the elevator industry in collaboration with the blind and low vision communities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, the Mayor's Disability Council urges Mayor Gavin Newsom, the Board of Supervisors, the Department of Building Inspection, the Building Inspection Commission, and other City and County of San Francisco departments and agencies who may be involved in funding, constructing, regulating, or approving Destination-Based elevators to fully and expeditiously implement the agreed-upon accessibility provisions for Destination-Based elevators.
__________________________________________________________
February 20, 2009 Mayor’s Disability Council – ADOPTED
Ayes: 6 - Jul Lynn Parsons, F. Ross Woodall, Raphaella Benin, Joseph Fong, Elizabeth Grigsby, Tatiana Kostanian, Sarah Estes Merrell, Denise Senhaux and Vincent Webster.
Absent: Benito Casados and Harriet Chiu Chan
DEPARTMENT OF BUILDING INSPECTION
City & County of San Francisco
1660 Mission Street, San Francisco, California 94103-2414
DRAFT # 4
ADMINISTRATIVE BULLETIN NO. AB-090
NO. AB-090
DATE: December 19, 2008
SUBJECT: Disability Access
TITLE : Rules for Local Equivalency Approval of Destination-Based Elevator Control Systems
PURPOSE : The purpose of this Bulletin is to establish acceptable design for equivalent facilitation standards for Destination-Based Elevator Control Systems.
REFERENCE : 2007 San Francisco Building Code
Section 104A.2.8, Alternate materials, design and methods of construction;
Section 1102B, Definitions, Equivalent Facilitation
Section 1116B, Elevators and Special Access (Wheelchair) Lifts
ANSI A117.1-2003 American National Standard: Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities
DISCUSSION: Destination-based elevator control systems are proposed as performance-based alternatives to traditional elevator control systems. These systems are desirable for some projects to increase elevator efficiency resulting in reduced wait and travel times, to provide high standards of building sustainability, and to allow flexibility in elevator control system operation. Adopted area plans for development of the City and County of San Francisco rely on high-density buildings in certain areas of the City to meet planning goals; elevators with destination-based control systems allow higher usage efficiencies, helping achieve those City goals.
The codes regulating elevator control systems prescriptively detail requirements for traditional elevator control systems, for example size and location of call keys. These prescriptive requirements lead to standardized installations that allow all users to be able to readily use elevator systems, and provide for accessible operation by persons with disabilities of all types. Alternate designs that provide equivalent performance to the prescriptive requirements of the codes may be approved on a case-by-case basis administratively if such alternate designs provide a code equivalent of that prescribed in the code for suitability, strength, effectiveness, fire resistance, durability, safety, sanitation, and accessibility for persons with disabilities.
The Department of Building Inspection will consider destination-based elevator control systems to meet the requirements for approval of alternate design through “equivalent facilitation” if the specific conditions listed in this bulletin is met. Any proposal for approval of a destination-based elevator control system that does not meet these conditions, or that fails to meet any other prescriptive requirement not addressed in this Administrative Bulletin, may be considered for administrative approval by the Department of Building Inspection on a case-by-case basis.
In cases where there are proposals substantially different from the alternatives prescribed in this bulletin, such proposals shall go to the Access Appeals Commission. A proposed destination-based elevator control system meeting the specific conditions of this Administrative Bulletin will not typically be required to have such determination of “equivalent facilitation” ratified by the Access Appeals Commission, and will be determined to have met requirements as a “Local Equivalency”.
DEFINITIONS
For the purpose of this Administrative Bulletin the following definitions shall apply:
Clearly audible Audible and discernable by 90% of non-deaf listeners.
Dwell time The time the elevator door is fully open.
Keypad Telephone-style user input device.
Active signage Signage which is interactive or which can be changed or re-programmed, usually electronically, commonly self-illuminated.
Passive signage Traditional printed, unchanging signage.
ALTERNATE DESIGN EQUIVALENT FACILITATION REQUIREMENTS
1 Application.
The installation of new destination-based elevator control systems requires a permit. This bulletin applies to newly installed, altered, or modernized destination-based elevator control systems in new and existing buildings for which building permits are issued after the effective date of this bulletin.
As alternate to meeting the prescriptive requirements of the San Francisco Building Code, the following elevator control systems and features shall be provided.
2 Hall Control User Interface Unit.
The hall user control interface unit includes an accessible keypad unit, visual display, and voice output. All user control interface units shall be accessible.
1. Each hall control user interface unit shall have the word “Elevator” in ½ inch high raised characters, and in Braille on the control interface unit faceplate.
2. Hall control interface unit keypads shall have a non-glare finish.
3. All elements of a hall control unit input device, including keypad and display, shall be adjacent and not more than six (6) inches apart.
4. If a security system or other form of access control system is in use, voice prompts shall be provided such as, “Present security credential.”
5. Any additional features provided at the hall control user interface shall also be made accessible.
A. Location.
1 Accessible wall-mounted hall control units shall be provided at each floor elevator lobby for each bank of elevators, located between elevator entrances in a location similar to conventional elevators.
2 Any additional fully complying hall control units keypad controls may be pedestal- or kiosk- mounted.
3 Units outside the immediate elevator lobby include voice responses, but need not announce a path to the assigned elevator.
B. Keypad.
1. Each hall control unit shall have a control keypad.
2. Keypads shall include a 12-key ascending telephone keypad arrangement per ANSI A117.1-2003
3. Keypads shall have a rectangular Accessibility Function key. per ANSI A117.1-2003, 407.2.1.7. The key shall be directly below the keypad and shall be the width of the keypad.
4. After the Accessibility Function key is pressed, a voice prompt shall immediately direct the user to enter their destination floor.
5. The accessible interface shall make an audible indication of an invalid key press sequence.
6. Any keys additional to the Accessibility Function key and the 12-key pad shall be arranged in columns immediately to the [bottom | left | right ?] of the telephone keypad.
C. Active Visual Display
* Visual displays shall provide a contrast ratio of at least 150:1 against a solid, static background.
* Character font and size shall meet ANSI A117.1-2003 requirements.
[ Specify ANSI font details. ]
D. Voice Output.
1. Auditory output from the control unit including voice or electronic responses shall be clearly audible and discernible in a crowded lobby environment.
2. Auditory signals shall be within the frequency range of 300 to 3,000 Hz and volume shall be at least 10dBA above ambient sound level, but not more than 80 dBA.
3. When a destination floor has been entered on the keypad or through an access control system, a voice prompt will, within two seconds, indicate the destination floor that was entered and will indicate which elevator is assigned to this destination.
4. Except for units provided under Section 1 A.2 above, such voice prompts will include direction to the elevator relative to the location of the keypad. An example of an acceptable voice prompt is, “Tenth Floor, Elevator D as in Delta, First Car to the Left.”
3 Wayfinding to Designated Elevator.
A Elevator Designation
1. Elevators shall be designated by a single letter, in ascending alphabetical order, assigned clockwise from the main entrance to the ground floor elevator lobby, except that for large group installations other clearly understandable designations may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Elevator systems with more than 26 elevators may use alpha-numeric designations, such as 'A1.'
2. Adjacent to each elevator entrance shall be an elevator designation letter with a minimum character height of 3½ inches.
B Floor Naming.
1. In newly constructed buildings, floor names shall begin with 'one' or 'zero' at the ground floor, and increase by one for each successive higher floor.
2. In newly constructed buildings, the first floor below ground shall be named 'minus one' (-1), and shall decrease by one for each successive lower floor.
3. In newly constructed buildings, floor names and control signage shall not include other designations such as 'P' or 'Plaza,' 'P1' or 'Parking Level 1,' etc.
C Elevator Assignment Adjacency.
1. An elevator adjacent to the hall control user interface and on the same side of the lobby shall be given assignment preference.
2. Long keypress. The user may hold the Accessibility Function key for approximately two seconds to indicate the need for accessible features, but not adjacency.
D Hoistway Elevator Signage.
1 Elevator passive directional and identification signage shall conform to the minimum requirements of ANSI A117.1-2003 Sect. 70S, 'Signs,' with characters not less than 5/8 inches in height.
E Hall Annunciators, visual and auditory.
1 There shall be, adjacent to each elevator entrance, or on the elevator car door jamb, a hall annunciator that provides illumination, voice prompts, and auditory tones.
2 Upon elevator car arrival or earlier, the annunciator shall illuminate and shall emit a voice prompt indicating the arrival of the car and specifying the car designation, such as “Car D as in Delta.”
3 In newly constructed buildings, the hall annunciator shall be installed at a height of at least 80 inches above finished floor.
4 Accessible Elevator Cab.
A The elevator cab shall not have non-functional, exposed cab buttons.
B The elevator cab shall provide a voice alert of next floor stop before door opens, preferably upon deceleration.
5 Documentation.
A simple written checklist documenting implementation of the accessibility features in this decision shall be filed with the Department of Building Inspection before permit issuance.
Approved:
Vivian Day, C.B.O. Date
Acting Director
Department of Building Inspection
Approved:
Building Inspection Committee Date
401 Van Ness, Room 300, San Francisco, CA 94102 415.554.6789 415.554.6159 fax
415.554.6799 TTY [email protected]