TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Disability advocates say an elevator at the Tallahassee International Airport that has been broken for four years is a “black eye in the front door” of the city.
Advocates say the broken elevator is complicating access for people with disabilities.
The city’s airport director says this elevator has been out of commission since February of 2024 and some disability advocates are just plain fed up.
Tallahassee resident Joanna Southerland-Mele said it shows a lack of care.
“This is ADA compliance and if this is an indication of when you come into the Tallahassee International Airport, how you’re taking care of people with disabilities, I think that’s a super bad sign,” Southerland-Mele said.
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Southerland-Mele cares about disability access because her family has a history, and that motivates her to speak out.
“My husband has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and he walks funny. And I just thought to make him walk up that ramp if we wanted to park, it’s just mean,” she said.
Dr. JR Harding, a senior lecturer at Florida State University, says this elevator is a bad look for the capital city.
“This is currently a black eye in the front door of the Tallahassee community. And it says something during, say, session, homecoming, football games and graduation,” Harding said.
David Pollard, the airport director, told us the city hired vendors to repair the elevator multiple times but those attempts failed, so it needs to be replaced. All the new parts are expected to be delivered to the city in April, but that’s an unsatisfying answer for the advocates.
“But I would say to our city managers, to our county commissioners, to our airport director, why don’t you pull your two suitcases and your wheelchair up that ramp in the 90-degree weather? And then you tell me if a two year window is satisfactory,” Harding said.
The airport director said anyone needing assistance can call the airport operations center or they can valet their car, in which case they’ll be charged the lowest rate or possibly have their costs waived.
Harding said relying on valet isn’t a solution.
“They need to ensure equal access, equal opportunity, and equal programmatic inclusion… Asking them to rely on the valet service to be willing to assist is also not a very satisfactory solution. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, effectively communicate and engage the community on a long-term solution because this has been a long-term problem.”
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