YOUNGSTOWN Parking for disabled will be set up at courthouse

The spaces will be off the street so people can safely get in and out of their cars.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Construction of a parking area for disabled people in front of the Mahoning County Courthouse should be finished by Thanksgiving, officials said.
County commissioners awarded a contract Thursday to Aberdeen Corp. of Youngstown, which was the lowest of three bidders at $17,500. Other bids were $28,840 and $30,812.
The project will include construction of two parking spaces along Market Street, near Front Street, that will be reserved for the disabled.
The spaces will be cut into the sidewalk so vehicles can be parked safely off the street.
"It will be nice to be able to get to the courthouse without having to come from the south forty," said Marty Martinek, who coordinates the county's compliance with the federal Americans With Disabilities Act.
Martinek uses a wheelchair.
Also included: The project also will include construction of a handicapped-accessible entrance to the county administration building, which is behind the courthouse.
The spaces on Market Street will be near an automatic door on the southeast corner of the courthouse, where there is already a wheelchair ramp. The door is locked, though, so people who want to use it must ring a buzzer and wait for a deputy sheriff to let them in.
Commissioners plan to leave that door open during normal business hours, allowing people to get inside and out of the weather. A second door will be built just inside the building, which is where visitors will have to summon a deputy to let them into the main lobby.
bjackson@vindy.com