Efforts have been made to make campus buildings handicap accessible, however, many trouble spots still remain.

Scott Lissner, University American Disabilities Act Coordinator, said having 409 buildings on campus and another 400 buildings throughout the state owned by Ohio State, it is going to take some time and renovations in order to make every building compliant with the ADA.

Lissner said many of the older buildings on campus were built a very long time ago and are physically unable to be handicap accessible in their current condition. Many were not built with the correct spacing to be handicap accessible.

One OSU student knows exactly why this issue needs attention.

Dixie Chester, a disabled sophomore in social work and women’s studies, is one of the many who is looking very forward to the changes.

Chester said there are numerous classroom doors that are not wide enough for wheelchairs, along with other buildings in which she has trouble getting around.

Many plans are on the way to solve this problem.

Hughes Auditorium is one of the projects the university will be working on this summer. A mechanical wheelchair lift will be installed, along with rearranging the seating to make it handicap accessible. Both the women’s and men’s rest rooms will also be upgraded.

Brown Hall and Ives Hall will have improvements made towards handicap accessibility, while Hagerty Hall and Page Hall will be renovated in order to make the buildings completely handicap accessible.

The Lane Avenue bridge and the Woody Hayes bridge will have temporary pedestrian bridges put up while construction is under way.

Franklin County and the City of Columbus have established the bridges will also be wheelchair accessible.

Fifty-seven text phones, which are pay phones for the deaf, will be installed throughout the campus- owned properties.

Lissner said the main reasons renovations are able to be made now, are because the economy is good and taxes are up, along with revenues.

In the last 10 years, the campus has been prioritizing what needs to be completed first.

Many parking lots have been made handicap accessible, along with buildings, curb cuts, rest rooms, and elevators.

Lissner said the ADA is working hard to be informed of what construction sites need to be handicap accessible.

“We have installed many temporary ramps and kept spaces open for wheelchairs to get through,” Lissner said. “We have a committee that meets once a month concerning the construction and handicap accessibility issues on campus.”