Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       CR
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1994                                       (202) 616-2765
                                                            TDD (202) 514-1888

        HOLIDAY SHOPPERS WITH DISABILITIES TO GET EQUAL CHANCE
                        TO GET TO MASSACHUSETTS MALL

        WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With a free shuttle bus at their

service, residents near Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts have had an

easier time getting to the local mall. That is, all the

residents except those with disabilities.

        When Rosemary Larking tried to board the bus she found she

could not. The vehicle was inaccessible to her and other

individuals who use wheelchairs. In fact, it has been

inaccessible since December 1993, when the mall began the

service in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act

(ADA).

        But this holiday season, that has changed under an agreement

reached yesterday between the Justice Department and the Chestnut

Hill Atrium Mall.

        With the holiday season in full swing, the upscale mall now

leases a 21-seat shuttle bus with a rear-entry hydraulic lift

that is accessible to Larking and all other persons with mobility

impairments.

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        "The ADA is about equal opportunity," said Assistant

Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick. "We hope all

storeowners will realize the added business that persons with

disabilities could bring."

        Larking notified the Justice Department after her 12-year

old daughter, Lorelei, who constantly looks out for access

problems, recognized the shuttle was inaccessible.

        "My daughter said, 'uh, oh. An ADA problem'," said Larking,

who filed a complaint with the Department alleging that the mall

was violating the ADA.

        "I hope this will serve as an example for other businesses,"

added Larking. "Disabled people are consumers too."

        In addition to making the bus accessible, the mall also will

pay Larking $500 in cash or in the form of a gift certificate

redeemable in any of the Atrium Mall stores.

        Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination against

persons with disabilities by public accommodations, such as

shopping malls. Complaints about transportation involving

services provided by state and local governments are investigated

by the Department of Transportation. Today's agreement, however,

involves a public accommodation and, as such, is the first

involving transportation issues resolved by the Justice

Department.

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