Accessible Communities Recognition Program

In November 2023, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) launched the new State DOT ADA Transition Plans and Inventories webpage to provide the public with deeper insight into the strides that State DOTs have made in addressing inaccessible pedestrian facilities, such as missing curb ramps, broken sidewalks, missing cross-walks and non-audible pedestrian signals. Building on this momentum, the Great Lakes ADA Center recently established an Accessible Communities recognition program to highlight and celebrate local government agencies who are doing exceptional work to remove barriers for pedestrians with disabilities.

We encourage colleagues, residents, and other interested parties to nominate local government agencies from the Great Lakes Region (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI) that have done outstanding work to remove barriers and improve pedestrian access for all, including developing ADA transition plans. We are interested in highlighting local government agencies who are making communities safe and enjoyable, improving the environment, and supporting grassroots efforts from the disability community. More information on how past communities have excelled at implementation can be found in this Casebook of success stories. Examples of outstanding efforts include using gas tax increases to fund a separate line item for barrier removal, conducting a comprehensive public participation campaign, and completing ADA transition plan barrier removal. If you know of a local government agency making changes that we can all benefit from, nominate them.

Qualifications for nominees:Please describe the efforts that the nominee has made to improving accessibility of their community. Describe a concrete example of what was done? Who was involved? etc. Please limit the description to 1 page. Feel free to include links to additional information or media coverage of the work completed.

Access the Nominee Application here.

Deadline: August 31, 2024

Review Process: Applications will be reviewed in September, 2024 and winners announced by October 1, 2024. Review criteria includes the level of impact on the lives of people with disabilities, the quality of the efforts, efforts that were inclusive of people with disabilities, and the quality of the nomination.