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Brookline Commission on Disability reports on access projects, scholarships and transition plan
Summary
The Commission on Disability reviewed 2024 accomplishments — including an orientation document, funding for listening devices, funding for accessible porta‑potties at the farmers market, an ASL course partnership and two scholarships for graduating students with disabilities — and outlined priorities for 2025.
The Brookline Commission on Disability presented its 2024 annual report to the Select Board, summarizing work to improve physical, communication and program access across town and outlining priorities for 2025.
Jim Lee, chair of the Commission on Disability, said the commission’s work spans variance review, advising town departments on ADA compliance and funding discrete accessibility fixes. The commission highlighted recent accomplishments including purchasing listening devices for town meeting, funding an accessible porta‑potty at the Brookline Farmers Market, sponsoring an American Sign Language introductory course for 25 residents through Deaf Inc., and working with the Brookline Public Library and other town committees. The commission also described creating two scholarships for graduating seniors with disabilities and its work on the townwide transition plan — a department‑level self‑evaluation process to assess ADA compliance and identify improvements.
Commission members said they had advocated for an accessible pedestrian signal on Harvard Street and had secured funds to make 30,000 pages of archived town documents screen‑reader accessible. The commission said it participates as a liaison on multiple town committees, including the Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Open Spaces Committee, and proposed further work in 2025 on a sidewalk prioritization policy and an updated accessible‑parking map.
Select Board members praised the commission’s work and asked about metrics; staff responded that the Department of Public Works maintains sidewalk condition metrics and that accessible parking standards are based on number of spaces and percentage thresholds. The commission asked to expand involvement earlier in projects that require variances to help find alternatives before variance requests travel to the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board.
Why it matters: The commission’s projects are aimed at making Brookline more accessible for residents with visible and invisible disabilities, and the group funds and advises on small capital and programmatic fixes that can affect daily mobility and participation.
Next steps: The commission will continue the transition plan with departments, update the accessible‑parking map and coordinate with DPW on sidewalk prioritization and accessibility improvements.
