Ongoing concerns over the safety of electric scooters and the issues they pose to Austin’s disabled community were front and center at a recent meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities. The meeting saw a presentation from e-scooter company Lime, which gave an update on its initiatives to ensure compliance with Americans With […]
Austin Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities
The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities advises the Austin City Council and City Manager on issues affecting persons with disabilities and ways to assist and enable residents with disabilities to participate in the social and economic life of the city.
Posted inLand Development Code
Disability committee asks Council to address group homes in land use code
Changes to city code that could affect the regulation of group homes for seniors and people with disabilities prompted a request for City Council to make further adjustments to the Land Development Code. The Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities voted last month to approve a recommendation that reestablished some basic guidelines concerning group homes […]
Posted inLand Development Code
Disability commission to seek replacement of group home rules stricken from code
Advocates for people with disabilities are expected to ask the city to update recent building code changes that promote density but could make it easier for unregulated group homes to set up shop throughout Austin. At Friday’s meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People With Disabilities, Zoning and Platting Commissioner Betsy Greenberg spoke about the […]
Posted inHousing
City seeks feedback from disability community on five-year federal housing plan
The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities heard a briefing last week from the Housing Department, which is seeking input from Austin residents with disabilities to identify the greatest community needs that could be addressed using federal funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development through the 2029 fiscal year. Housing staff will take […]
Posted inPolice
Public Safety Commission begins discussion of how people with disabilities relate to policing
The Public Safety Commission recently considered a pair of reports issued by the Office of Police Oversight regarding policing and people with disabilities. At the commission meeting last week, Austin police leadership also responded to the reports, emphasizing ongoing training on building empathy for people with disabilities and also emphasizing obstacles to implementing some of […]
Posted inHousing
Disability committee targets accessible housing needs for next city budget
Members of the city’s disability committee want to focus requests for next year’s budget on addressing the shortage of housing affordable for those who receive federal or state disability assistance, which typically falls short of the local threshold for affordable housing. Last month’s meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities featured presentations and […]
Posted inAustin
Disability committee eyes new community census to identify service needs
Local disability advocates appear ready to ask the city to conduct a census or general accounting of the number of local residents with disabilities who may require city services beyond those currently offered locally. Earlier this month, the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities discussed the need for data on disabled people living locally, with […]
Posted inPolice
APD pushed to improve training, engagement with Austin’s disabled community
Disability advocates in Austin want the Austin Police Department to include training and research on the lives of people with disabilities as part of basic academy education, while encouraging department staff to build stronger relationships with the local disabled community. Those were some of the recommendations included in a recent report from the Office of […]
Posted inTransportation
Disability commission pushes city to pick up pace of sidewalk improvements
Improved access to public transit and bike-share programs – possibly including free service for all residents – is among the policy moves the Transportation and Public Works Department intends to ask City Council to consider later this year. During a presentation last week to the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities, John Eastman, division manager […]
Posted inTransportation
Disability committee wants improved transportation to Austin’s major music venues
Improving transportation for the disabled to the Circuit of the Americas and the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park are two of the early goals for members of the city’s committee for the disabled who may opt to serve on an ongoing task force dedicated to improving accessibility at local music venues. Last week the Mayor’s […]
Posted inResources
City moving ahead with five-year food security plan
The Office of Sustainability will soon begin recruiting community members interested in helping to create the city’s first comprehensive food plan, which is intended to address food scarcity and build up the community’s resilience to withstand natural disasters. The plan is one of the objectives in a June 2021 resolution passed by City Council in […]
Posted inAustin
Study points to transportation, education needs for disabled community
Preliminary findings from a quality-of-life study for Austin residents with disabilities suggest the city needs to improve transportation options, expand educational opportunities and improve communications with the larger disabled community. Last week, at a combined meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities and the Commission on Seniors, representatives from Boston-based Public Consulting Group […]