A wide-ranging brainstorming session at Monday night’s Zoom-only monthly meeting of the Commission on Disabilities focused on whether or not the city should use an “accessible golf cart” to ferry people with mobility limitations to and from the top of East Rock. The first item on the agen da — dubbed “East Rock Proposal to Parks Commission” — followed on last month’s session in which city Disability Services Director Gretchen Knauff said Parks Department Director Max Webster had told her he was interested to receive such a proposal, an opening gambit in how the city might make getting to the summit of East Rock more accessible to people with disabilities. All of this comes as the city maintains a six-day-a-week car prohibition on the road to the summit, which began during Covid and has remained so in the aftermath. The mayor has defended the car-limiting policy as overwhelmingly popular among users of the park; critics have lambasted it as discriminatory against people with disabilities. On Monday, Disability Commission Chair Tricia Palluzzi described a proposal by the commission to the parks department as still “in the works.” At the heart of such a proposal would be deployment of a specialized accessible golf cart-type vehicle; the most important aspect to be considered would be safety. As she phrased it: “An accessible golf cart so someone with a disability could go up with a family member and access the summit like everyone else.” If the golf cart as the vehicle of choice has been settled on, that’s about the only aspect at this point where there was collective agreement among disability commissioners. “We need to work with the parks department,” Palluzzi emphasized, “being respectful of runners and walkers, a least-intrusive vehicle that will work well and will be supervised by that department.” Over and above the purchase of the vehicle — and would there be more than one? a little fleet of golf carts? — “there are costs involved in this,” said Commissioner Beverly Kidder. She said training would be one of them, but of course there would be supervision and maintenance of a new vehicle or vehicles for the parks department to deal with as well. “And you wouldn’t be able to charge people,” Knauff emphasized. “And would reservations be involved?” Palluzzi asked. “Or does it need to be available all the time?” Keep in mind, she emphasized, “the proposal is an introduction, our thoughts and how we can collaborate with the Parks Department” to make this happen. “I suspect,” said Commissioner Kidder, “that it’s open to debate the frequency.” That is on which days and for how long on each day the vehicle would be available. If the city administration’s policy with regard to the road to the summit is maintained, is a future ADA-approved golf cart a vehicle? And therefore would it be allowed up only on Sundays, which is the sole day vehicles are currently allowed on the summit road? The commissioners engaged that aspect of question as well: “We talk about Sundays a lot, but in the bigger picture, if the road is open seven days a week, then we have to do it [that is, make the golf cart available] seven days a week. And that becomes expensive.” “Yes,” acknowledged Knauff, “the issue isn’t just Sunday.” “This all sounds like a small issue, adding a golf cart, but someone has to have charge of it, maintain it. There are many issues.” “I worry about safety,” said Commissioner Lena Esposito, referring to how the golf cart would fare on the narrower parts of the summit road. “With the golf cart, that wouldn’t be a problem,” Palluzzi assured her. “The accessible ones are the width of a normal golf cart. It’s the length [that’s different] for getting on and off. I have a feeling once someone sees it, it may cause more demand, which may actually be good. It’s more complicated than initially everyone thought, but I think Parks is willing to work with us.” Yes, Kidder concurred, but then turned to the eternal money question: “Everything has to align with budget, and this year’s is done. So I think Max is thinking about next year for resources to support something like this.” Palluzzi said the plan is to complete the proposal in the coming weeks, have the Commission on Disabilities members review and approve as soon as possible, and then send it on to the Parks Department. She said she hopes to have the proposal on the Parks Commission agenda for its first meeting in 2026, and she would be in attendance to advance the issue. In addition to Palluzzi, Kidder, and Esposito, the other commissioners in attendance at Monday’s meeting included Carmen Correo-Rios and Annie Harper. Jamie Watson, in the process of becoming a commissioner, also participated. The post Disability Commissioners Broach East Rock Golf Cart Plan appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less