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Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. | Photo courtesy of Alossix/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
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LA Metro has agreed to improve access for persons with disabilities at Union Station, officials announced Friday.
Following an investigation that found the downtown Los Angeles train station was not accessible to disabled people, the transit agency entered into a settlement agreement with the government that requires the agency to remedy violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said the investigation revealed that Metro, which is responsible for Union Station, failed to make the facility readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including people who use wheelchairs. Station facilities include the station structure, the platform and parking facilities.
Union Station is the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States. The station, which opened in 1939 and serves as a major transportation hub for Southern California, was found to have a series of accessibility issues, including wide gaps in walkways, a passenger loading zone that did not have a compliant curb ramp, various signage issues, and other ADA violations, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
While the government’s investigation revealed certain ADA violations, the settlement agreement requires Metro to hire an independent licensed architect to conduct an initial survey and annual inspections of Union Station, provide the U.S. Attorney’s Office with a list of all the violations identified by the independent licensed architect, and remedy all the violations identified.
“The Union Station agreement caps a long list of rail station matters my office resolved over the past several years to ensure full access for every transit user,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.
“Our office is committed to enforcing the rights of persons with disabilities, and I am pleased that the operators of the rail stations in this district have recognized the importance of complying with federal law and ensuring complete access. We thank the various entities, such as Metro, for fully cooperating in our investigations.”
