State joins discussion on Graydon Pool ramp in Ridgewood
Tuesday May 28, 2013, 7:46 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News
The wait for a 100 percent ADA-compliant ramp leading into Graydon Pool just became longer, and residents from all over Bergen County recognize the ramifications of the delay: wheelchair users and others with disabilities must wait at least one more year before they can enjoy the centerpiece of Ridgewood’s historic swimming park.
MARION BROWN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Buy or license this photo
Daniel Saunders (left) and Cindy Randazzo of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection speak to residents during a meeting on accessibility at Graydon Pool.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials toured the grounds of the sandy-bottomed pool last week prior to a two-hour discussion with dozens of residents, all of whom supported full accessibility to the pool but were at odds with one another on the means of achieving it. The purpose of this week’s meeting, according to Daniel Saunders, administrator of the DEP’s Historic Preservation Office, was to “achieve balance” among all sides and help the village move forward with the project.
The discord between residents who support the installation of a concrete ramp at the pool and those seeking alternatives is at the root of the lengthy process, which is approaching three years. But after several public discussions and review of various schematics, the Ridgewood Council last fall approved a ramp design that would be constructed in time for the start of the 2013 swim season.
From https://www.ada.gov/qa_existingpools_titleIII.htm
“Section 242 provides that large pools (pools with 300 linear feet of pool wall or more) must have two accessible means of entry and exit. One means of entry/exit must be a fixed pool lift or sloped entry; the other entry can be a transfer wall, transfer system, or pool stairs. Small pools (pools with less than 300 linear feet of pool wall) must provide at least one accessible means of entry/exit, which must be either a fixed pool lift or a sloped entry”
It says fixed pool lift or sloped entry. It does not say “mobi chair” for all. The means of entry and exit must be available at all times when the pool is open. This means that the disabled are not required to take turns with a mobi chair – for those who thought that the disabled would like to float in a mobi chair because it would be so much fun.
It is not a pool, it is a pond in a natural flood way .It will be interesting to see how the State responds. In the past the DEP had made it very clear that Graydon could not be altered in anyway and that no permanant structures could be built in the natural flood plain. 40+ feet of concrete seems pretty permanant to me.
There is no “pool wall” at Graydon just as there is no “pool wall” at any lake.