Berkeley's Ed Roberts Campus awarded $300,000

Inaugurating a new chapter in the 30-year history of the Independent Living Movement of people with disabilities, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater presented a $300,000 check to the Ed Roberts Campus (ERC), on June 24th, to fund the architectural design of the ERC as well as its review and comment by the community.

In awarding this highly competitive grant, the Department of Transportation (DOT) recognizes the Ed Roberts Campus as a unique model of urban, transit-oriented development that makes the maximum use of the BART system's accessibility, revitalizes the Adeline corridor in the vicinity of Berkeley's Ashby BART Station and provides critical services to the disability community.

The Ed Roberts Campus will be built on the eastern parking lot at the Ashby BART Station in Berkeley. It will bring together under one roof nine disability-related organizations that share a common history in the Independent Living/Disability Rights Movement. The ERC is dedicated to the memory of Ed Roberts (1939-1995), an international leader and educator in the independent living and disability rights movement.

 "The Ed Roberts Campus is the most notable U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) project specifically linking together transit oriented development with universal design for persons with disabilities. As such, the campus will be the preeminent disability center for the entire United States," said Michael Winter, Associate Administrator for Budget and Policy at the Federal Transit Administration.

The ERC will house the offices of the nine collaborating organizations and offer an impressive array of disability-related services and programs in one totally accessible location. Preliminary plans suggest: a conference center, a library on the Disability Movement, a computer/media resource center, a fitness center/gym, a cafe, a child development center and Head Start, and a mix of neighbourhood-serving retail and office lease space.

The nine partners include Bay Area Outreach & Recreation Program (BORP), Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT), Center for Independent Living (CIL), Computer Technologies Program (CTP), Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF), Through the Looking Glass (TLG), Whirlwind Wheelchair International (WWI), and World Institute on Disability (WID).

"This will be a fitting memorial to Ed Roberts, takes the disabled community to the next level in providing services, and will be a wonderful addition to the on going revitalization of South Berkeley," said Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean.
 

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