Fair makes strides with access for all

It’s hard to think of a more venerable Palmer institution than the Alaska State Fair.

Whatever your opinion of the 12-day event, it’s indisputable that the festival has been a source of memories for generations of Alaska youth during the 70-plus years Palmer has been hosting an end-of-the-summer party.

With all that history, an institution like the fair could be forgiven if it fell victim to institutional inertia or otherwise became stuck in its ways.

Remarkably, though, the fair doesn’t need our forgiveness, at least not when it comes to handicapped access. Over the last year, the fair has been taking huge strides to make itself more welcoming to the disabled.

Of course, the argument could be made that the Americans With Disabilities Act is a 20-year-old piece of legislation and the fair is behind the times in catching up to it. We wouldn’t make that argument, especially after talking to David Barton, who is part of an advocacy group working to make the fair more accessible to everyone. Barton said he only knows of two state fairs in the nation — the Minnesota and Iowa state fairs — that have also taken this close a look at ADA compliance.

He also said the work the Alaska fair has done is going to be presented to other state fairs so those entities can follow our lead.

You don’t have to spend much time at the fair to realize what a task bringing that place into compliance would be.

The grounds weren’t designed with wheelchairs in mind. Vendor booths are hauled in every year. Some are constructed on site. Some are housed in travel trailers. There is no standard format. Often, it seems the philosophy in booth construction is to do whatever works. Rarely, it seems, are wheelchair ramps a part of that.

Adding to the difficulty is the business owner’s imperative to make his business seen. What vendor doesn’t want his booth as close to the walking trails as humanly possible? If the booth has to add a ramp, it could wind up in the walking path and create a safety hazard.

Many organizations facing a similar problem might deem the situation unfixable and give up. But the fair didn’t do that. Last year, it embarked on a program to bring vendors into compliance with the ADA.

The plan then was to give vendors a year to modify their booths. The fair also practices what it preaches, laying down asphalt to bridge transitions between walking paths and bathroom exits and constructing ramps for its performance stages.

And this year we’re seeing the results. Barton said the fair still has some work to do. Not everyone in the disabled community is satisfied. Some think the fair should be 100 percent compliant right now.

But the fair’s progress is encouraging. Barton is happy with what’s been done so far and believes the fair is heading in the right direction.

We do, too.