Jo Bennett (Argued)
Michael G. Tierce
Stevens & Lee
1818 Market Street, 29th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103-1702
Attorney for Appellant
Background
B.
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Readily accessible
SEPTA does not deny that the 15th Street Station is not
readily accessible. Instead, SEPTA argues that [e]ven if
an elevator were installed at the 15th Street [Courtyard
Entrance], a person in a wheelchair could not access 15th
Street Subway Station because there is no wheelchair access
from the concourse to the subway platform. (BB at 38.)
While SEPTAs assertion is correct, the District Court already
aptly addressed this issue, finding that the ADA is an
incremental statute. (App. at 26.) According to the District
Court, [g]iven that eventually SEPTA will alter the stairway
to the platform, triggering a requirement of additional
accessibility, at that point, wheelchair-bound individuals will
have an accessible exit waiting for them at the mezzanine
level. (Id. at 22-23.) Otherwise, to excuse public entities
from complying with the accessibility requirements simply
because they altered only a portion of a facility would
undermine the intent of the ADA.
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D.
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