SALT LAKE CITY — This summer, downtown Salt Lake City will be staying busy with many events. That means more road closures and barriers, which could make it more difficult for some to access the City & County building.
“We have a lot happening downtown this month,” said Peter Makowski, the deputy director for business development for Salt Lake City.
Longtime Salt Lake City resident Margaret Holloway makes it a priority to get to city meetings.
“This is budget time, and we’re discussing budget issues that we have a right to do,” said Holloway.
She explained that since mid-May, accessibility to those meetings has been more of a hassle because of parking barriers.
“We weren’t able to access the building because of the barriers of the parking between the library and city hall,” said Holloway.
Holloway is hoping that the barriers can be moved while events are not going on, so she can use ADA parking.
“The festival's not even until the weekend, and then there’s no reason why they can’t have the inner circle opened up. I do not understand the issue,” said Holloway.
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Makowski said Salt Lake City works to consider everyone.
“Very conscious of ADA needs, especially here at city hall. If there are any concerns, we can address those here,” said Makowski.
The city said the Pride event takes more time to set up, which is why Utah Pride Center had parking barriers up since Monday.
"Pride festival required a lot of setup, so they actually spend the entire week setting up the event,” said Makowski. "And yes, they need to fence off the area because there’s a lot of sensitive equipment."
Nate Crippes, the supervising attorney at the Disability Law Center, serves on the mayor's accessibility and disability commission. He says this is an issue that should be addressed.
“With that barrier, if you if you need an accessible spot, they probably should ensure that you can still get to those. I’m in the parking lot in front of the building,” said Crippes.
He said that while barriers are necessary for events, ADA parking can still be a priority.
“Ideally, if you could leave one on one of the beginning for accessible parking or other spots available, so people aren’t having to go a much greater distance beyond what I think they usually would,” said Crippes.
The city building is still open and operating, but parking is different around the timing of events.
“Parking across the street at the library that they can use, as well as on the adjacent streets,” said Makowski.
The city wants people to know they are welcome to come to them with their concerns, and they invite everyone to participate in the upcoming events.
"We want to encourage everyone to come down to downtown Salt Lake City this month,” said Makowski.
