HOUSTON – Gary Lynn was born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, and while he doesn’t let that stop him from attending his favorite Houston sporting and entertainment events, he said accessibility issues sometimes make for a less than enjoyable experience.
A longtime attendee of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, 29-year-old Lynn, said it hasn’t been easy getting to the places he wants to go in his motorized wheelchair.
“If I want to go pet the animals, I can’t get my chair through there, the aisles are very small and I have to go over dirt and mud and could damage my chair,” Lynn told KPRC 2 News.
He said rodeo concerts at NRG Park mean long waits for a crowded elevator shared by people without disabilities.
“I think there should be elevators just for people with disabilities. The last time I went (to the rodeo) I had to wait 30-45 minutes for an elevator. That’s ridiculous,” Lynn said.
Parking, Lynn said, is confusing and too far away from the venues.
“The last time I went, I just took MetroLift,” he said.
Failure to provide parking accessibility is one of the allegations the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it would investigate during a review of the rodeo beginning on March 7, 2022.
On its website, HLSR says it has “a limited number of ADA parking spaces in the blue and yellow lots for $20 per day”. The spaces are sold on a first come first serve basis and subject to availability.
“If people’s civil rights are up for sale, it’s no wonder that the feds are looking at them. I don’t know of very many places that have ADA access up for sale. That seems a little bit mercenary and it may even be illegal,” said Jennifer McPhail, a community organizer with ADAPT of Texas.
ADA compliance experts said the review will likely focus on bringing the rodeo in line with ADA minimum standards.
“They’ll make a walk through and do a visual observation take some measurements to identify those things they consider barriers to access, and then probably work with the rodeo to develop a plan to remove those barriers and make accommodations,” said Kenneth Otten, president of Otten Consulting Group, a Houston-based ADA compliance consulting company who has worked with the Justice Department on similar reviews.
A spokesperson for the U. S. Attorney’s Office told KPRC 2 News the rodeo is cooperating and they do not anticipate there will be any fines or a lawsuit.