IBJNews

Speedway agrees to major overhaul in ADA settlement

Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to bring the historic structure into compliance with federal disability guidelines after investigators found 360 violations of federal disability law.

The settlement, announced Thursday afternoon, stems from a 1999 complaint from Dan Ward, who claimed that his wheelchair prevented him access to the pit area during an Indianapolis 500 practice session even though he had a pit pass.

As a result, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has worked with IMS officials to come up with a plan to bring the facility into compliance by modifying or improving hundreds of features, elements and spaces, including restrooms, parking lots, grandstands and dining areas.

A Department of Justice spokesperson said the modifications, which are estimated to take 30 months to complete, likely will cost the speedway “millions of dollars.”

IMS will pay Ward $35,000 to settle the complaint and will submit a report to the U.S. Attorney’s Office every 90 days for the next two years, updating the office on the progress of the changes to the speedway.

The speedway also agreed to permit follow-up inspections from Department of Justice officials and to design future buildings to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In addition, IMS has agreed to develop new training procedures for employees and to develop a policy that permits individuals with disabilities to enter the pit or garage areas with the proper credentials.

The speedway was built in 1909, well before the ADA took effect in 1990.

“For more than a century, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been a treasured symbol for all Hoosiers, and this agreement ensures that it will now be accessible to all Hoosiers,” U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett said in a prepared statement.
 

ADVERTISEMENT

  • The delay is embarrassment to Indiana
    I am embarrassed as a Hoosier that the Speedway has taken nearly 14 years to settle this complaint and to come up with a corrective plan.
  • Shameful
    It is shameful that it took a law suit and a multi-year Federal investigation for IMS to do the right, legal and respectable thing.
    • Bristol is in compliance!
      We attended the Bristol Motor Speedway in August 2011. They have excellent supportive measures in place for those of us in wheelchairs. The wheelchair spot seating allows adequate room for large electric wheelchairs like mine. They have individual handicap bathrooms inside the racetrack bleachers area. My husband had a nice "attendants" seat right next to my wheelchair seat and the racetrack seating attendants were very helpful and checked on us regularly to ensure we had a great raceday experience. We camped for the week prior to the race weekend at the racetrack's "Thunder Road" casmpground and their campground has nice bathing and toilet facilities. That week, the racetrack even supplied vans for those of us that are handicapped and my husband was allowed to ride with me everytime they took me back and forth to the racetrack or downtown for the driver's parade. Finally, I would like to add that some of the drivers and their booths down in the outside area setup for raceteam advertising are equipped so that I could participate in those events as well and the day that I went to where Michael Waltrip was speaking and signing autographs, I was one of the first people to arrive in front of the stage. I really wanted a "Lucky Dog" and Michael's autograph, but when Michael stepped out onto the stage, a rude man stepped in front of me so that I could not be seen {I thought). Michael being the kind gentleman that he is did see me and handed the man a Lucky Dog and had him hand it to me and did not give that man any of the things they were handing out. Then one of the Sharpie girls in the booth next to the stage saw that I was holding my Lucky Dog up for an autograph but Michael did not see me. She asked to hold my Lucky Dog and took it backstage and Michael's young lady that was helping him took it out onto the stage and he signed it and sent it back to me. What great memories! Boy, I couldn't have had a more pleasurable racing experience. I am glad to hear that the Indianapolis Speedway is modernizing their facilities so that others can experience the great Nascar Raceday experience.

    Post a comment to this story

    COMMENTS POLICY
    We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
     
    You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
     
    Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
     
    No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
     
    We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
     

    Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

    Sponsored by
    ADVERTISEMENT

    facebook - twitter on Facebook & Twitter

    Follow on TwitterFollow IBJ on Facebook:
    Follow on TwitterFollow IBJ's Tweets on these topics:
     
    Subscribe to IBJ
    1. Thank you for pointing out the absurdity of having The Naked Cowboy at Zoobilation. For the life of me, I don’t know why anyone would want a picture with that guy, but there were plenty of folks lined up to get a shot with him. The event could have used more restrooms out on the bridge, more photo booths and vendors offering something besides meat. There were a few more veg-friendly options this year than last, but it has a long way to go.

    2. Went to Zoobilation Friday night and had a great time. The weather was super nice and the food was very good, for the most part. Lots of sliders this year at many different tents. The slider from Alexander's was inedible, all four in my group ended up tossing it after one bite. Some tents were out of food by 8:30 and one bar area was out of cups at 8:30, not sure how that can happen. Great event in Indy and I look forward to it each year.

    3. Many of the small community hospitals are now owned by the "cash-strapped" Indy biggies, with more coming. The doctor-practise buying has been done precisely to sidestep tiered payments for out-of-hospital procedures. These are no better done, or safer, because someone administers a pain shot or snaps an x-ray in a doctor's office. And the non-payment issue is resolved next year when we all have insurance, even though many still think paying private insurers an extra 10-20% is what makes our system "world-class".

    4. I'd love to see this rendering put into the context of the surrounding neighborhood/area to get a better feel for the surrounding scale. However, just by the looks of it, it appears to be an excellent project. I'm pretty sure that if Scott Olson had said nothing regarding Chicago or Wrigleyville, Mr. "Horrible" would have found nothing bad to say. I'd love to know how Indy is becoming "Chicagofied"...

    5. Truly great and funny play. Vocalists were Broadway caliber and stage settings ideal for small stage. Would go again!

    ADVERTISEMENT