BATON ROUGE - Capital area officials are working to make some of Baton Rouge's most frequented public routes and associated buildings more accessible to individuals with disabilities.

According to a Wednesday news release from the Office of East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, a total of 21 MOVEBR projects that focus on making the Parish more ADA compliant will cost $10 million to complete.

The plan includes initiatives to improve existing pathways, sidewalks, ramps, crosswalks and associated facilities, as well as all new capacity projects. Ten of these initiatives are to begin in 2021.

The ADA projects listed below are under contract for design with work underway on Fuqua Street, Clayton Street, Fairfields Avenue, Chippewa Street, Winbourne Avenue and Beech Street.

It is anticipated that the first ADA projects will be let for construction later this year.

-Fuqua St. / Gracie St. Area ADA Transition Project

-Clayton St. Area ADA Transition Project

-Fairfields Ave. Area ADA Transition Project

-Chippewa St. Area ADA Transition Project

-Winbourne Ave. Area ADA Transition Project

-Beech St. Area ADA Transition Project

-Evangeline St. (West) Area ADA Transition Project

-Mohican St. Area ADA Transition Project

- Hollywood St. Area ADA Transition Project

In addition to the reconstruction of public routes with the aim of ADA compliance, the MOVEBR website itself has been upgraded to feature increased accessibility to users with certain disabilities. 

The website can be customized using a blue and white icon located on each page to help make information accessible to users with a variety of needs.

For example, for vision impaired viewers, the font size, color, contrast, alignment, and other features can be enhanced.

The site can be adjusted for people with cognitive disabilities such as autism or dyslexia and offers an ADHD profile that reduces distractions and helps with focus.

A seizure-safe profile reduces motion, animation, and risky color combinations, and viewers with motor disabilities can set a profile to use the keyboard to navigate the website.

Click here to learn more about MOVEBR’s ADA or to sign up to follow the program.