Worcester accessibility commission presses Polar Park for evacuation plan, clearer security contact and accessibility fixes

The Worcester City Accessibility Advisory Commission on July 15 pressed Polar Park management to provide overdue accessibility documents, explain delays to promised fixes and supply clearer ways to contact security during events.

At the meeting, Patricia (staff member) said she had followed up with Polar Park and expected a copy of the ballpark’s evacuation plan but had not received it. “I’m really not understanding why we haven’t gotten that,” she said, adding that Polar Park staff told the commission they had submitted materials to Major League Baseball and state reviewers.

Commission members said the absence of a publicly available evacuation plan and uncertainty about in-venue security communications pose practical risks for patrons with disabilities. Kate McGrath (commission member) asked whether a posted phone number for security is a reliable way for patrons to reach help in an emergency, noting she had not been able to save the number quickly when it appeared on the stadium screens. “If there’s a real…