Students on Augustana’s campus take the same paths and shortcuts every day. Whether they trek up the Olin Stairs or take Gerber’s first-floor elevator to avoid the stairs, these mindless shortcuts make walks across campus easier. For most, these paths are convenient; but for some, they are inaccessible.
One of these shortcuts is the Obama Bridge, connecting the lower campus to upper campus housing. Since its completion in 2009, the bridge allows more accessibility on campus. At the top of the bridge, however, there is no accessible shortcut to enter one of the bridge user’s main destinations: the Swanson Commons. Students have to go entirely around the building to reach the accessible entrance.
Like many others around campus, Jessica Waytenick ‘99 sees the need for an accessible entrance. Waytenick used a wheelchair during her four years at Augustana, and she said there were challenges, such as using different paths to navigate campus.
“When you’re a student, whether you have to use a wheelchair or not, you always want to take the same path that the rest of the students do,” Waytenick said.
Kai Swanson, special assistant to the president, said the history of the Swanson Commons and the Obama Bridge began when former President Steven Bahls and his board members came up with a strategic plan to develop high-quality residential areas for students during the mid-2000s. The team needed updated and accessible residential halls, especially on upper campus.
“We started to think, ‘we’re going to need to build something new,’” Swanson said. “We’re going to make sure that it’s more accessible than anything we’ve got elsewhere on campus.”
In 2006, Augustana completed the construction of the Swanson Commons. With nearly 250 beds to accommodate both sophomore and junior students, Swanson was one of the first residence centers to install an elevator. However, the only way to access the building from the lower campus was either through Andreen Residence Hall or a sidewalk right by 38th Street. Since neither of these options was wheelchair accessible, Swanson remained inaccessible.
According to Simplified Building, a ramp built to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has to have a minimum slope of 1:20 (for every inch it rises, there must be 20 inches in length). The maximum slope is 1:12. Since Andreen is inaccessible by ramp and 38th Street exceeds the maximum slope, the college needed a ramp that accommodated wheelchair accessibility.
In 2004, Illinois elected Barack Obama to the Senate where he earmarked funding for a project within his district. Shortly after, Augustana College partnered with the city of Rock Island and secured $1.5 million to fix stormwater mitigation and, more notably, to build a bridge connecting the lower campus to Swanson and 11th Avenue.
Soon after, the Obama Bridge completed construction and met ADA compliance. Bridges meeting ADA compliance must be at least 36 inches wide with one foot in elevation for every 12 feet. Since its completion, students living in Swanson, Parkander, 11th Avenue Flats and townhomes have convenient access to Augustana’s lower campus.
While the Obama Bridge adheres to ADA compliance, a problem lies at the top of the ramp. The closest entrance to Swanson has a staircase in front of it with no accessible ramp. Without a ramp, neither Swanson nor the parking lot between Swanson and Andreen are conveniently accessible from the top of the Obama Bridge. Swanson is only accessible through the entrance on the corner of 38th Street and 11th Avenue.
The most reasonable solution to this problem seems to be to install a ramp at the top of the Obama Bridge, making Swanson and the parking lot accessible. This would allow all students to use the same entrance to Swanson.
Despite a seemingly simple solution, Kai Swanson said the college is hesitant because of the implications of installing a ramp in that location.
First, adding a ramp meeting ADA compliance would remove parking spaces between Swanson and Andreen. Since parking is already an ongoing issue on Augustana’s campus, taking out spaces here would require the college to find spaces elsewhere, creating a domino effect. Ultimately, this would increase the installation price, making the project financially challenging.
“Could you do it? Yeah, but then you start removing parking,” Swanson said. “As much as we want to achieve all strategic games at the same time, parking is something we routinely hear from students that ‘we don’t have enough,’ or ‘don’t take any away.’”
Additionally, installing a ramp at the edge of the parking lot would create a challenge during the winter months. In parking lots, snow plows might block the ramps, whereas accessible sidewalks are cleared.
Currently, while the Obama Bridge and the interior of Swanson Commons is accessible, the transition between the two is not.
Andreen Residence Hall is inaccessible, leaving one less dorm for those needing accommodations. In Waytenick’s experience, Andreen was not an option for her, as the building has no elevator or an accessible entrance. Generally, students needing accessible rooms live in other residence halls, like Westerlin.
Between the financial challenges of adding a ramp and the resources already provided for accessibility, adding a ramp at the top of the Obama Bridge will likely remain low on Augustana’s project list. However, the college continuously works toward more accessibility within its residence halls.
“One of the things [Augustana has] done is invested a lot of money in Westerlin to put in elevators,” Swanson said. “Now we’re doing Erickson. That is, we’ll make it reasonably accessible.”
Generally, Augustana’s campus would not be considered the most wheelchair-friendly campus due to its topography. Its terrain and old buildings make accessibility challenging. This is an important issue not just for students using wheelchairs, but also for students who have family members using wheelchairs. Despite this, Augustana needs to work towards accessibility, whether making big or small changes. All students deserve access to take the same paths regardless of ability.
