Boston Parks Unveils Accessible Features Map as Board Approves Minutes, Eyes Summer Events

BOSTON -- June 17, 2026, Boston's Disability Commission Advisory Board heard a presentation on the city's accessible park features website and fielded warnings about a potential federal funding crisis for regional ADA centers. The Parks Department team of Lauren Bryant and Chad Fisher, joined by Tufts University Tisch Summer Fellow Jilly, walked the board through a boston.gov page cataloging accessible and sensory-friendly features across roughly 90 inventoried parks, including an interactive map with GPS-linked accessible entrances and a screen-reader-compatible neighborhood table. Board member Carl Richardson raised an urgent concern that the New England ADA Center, one of ten federally funded regional technical-assistance centers, could close without new federal funding, and urged members to contact Senators Elizabeth Warren and their federal representatives including Representative Ayanna Pressley. Commissioner Kristen McCosh briefed the board on a new on-street accessible parking program requiring both a disability placard and a resident parking permit in designated spaces in some neighborhoods, piloted in East Boston, and noted that ADA Day 2026 will be held at Copley Square on July 15 rather than City Hall Plaza due to FIFA activity. Richardson also disclosed that a planned Deaf-Blind Day at the State House was postponed after organizers could secure only 22 of the roughly 40 interpreters needed, with the event now rescheduled for October.