RAD awards six accessibility & inclusion grants to improve user experience at regional assets

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – From digital captioning for Cultural Trust stage shows to access ramps at the Aviary, new public investments will ensure that Allegheny County’s assets can be better enjoyed by all visitors.

The board of the Allegheny Regional Asset District – RAD – recently approved six Accessibility & Inclusion grants, providing $214,481 to assets for new projects that will provide a more welcoming environment for all visitors.

“RAD is for everyone, and these grants ensure that we are living up to our promise to the people,” said Rich Hudic, RAD Executive Director. “We talk constantly about maintaining a high quality of life in our County. But it only matters if it’s ‘high quality’ for every resident and visitor.”

The latest Accessibility & Inclusion grants are as follows:

 

• $80,000 to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to make accessibility upgrades at two of the Trust’s venues: digital captioning and audio description equipment at the Harris Theater and accessible service counters at the Benedum Center
  
  
• $47,951 to the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh for seven accessible doors at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History
  
  
• $32,530 to the Kelly Strayhorn Theater for assistive listening devices, an assistive listening system, bariatric chairs, wheelchairs, and ADA wayfinding signage
  
  
• $20,500 to the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh to improve digital accessibility on MCP's website and ensure full ADA website compliance
  
  
• $20,000 to the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium to improve digital accessibility on the Zoo's website and ensure full ADA website compliance
  
  
• $13,500 to the National Aviary for an access ramp between the Grasslands and the Wetlands habitats

 

Over the last decade, RAD has invested over $1.5 million in assets for improving accessibility, including over $680,000 in 2023 alone. Previous grants have included tactile signage, wheelchair-accessible trails, sensory-friendly program adaptations and many other projects.

“As we close out the 10th year that RAD has made available grant funding for regional assets to make physical and programmatic improvements for people with physical and intellectual disabilities, we are proud of the work assets have done to be accessible and inclusive for all,” read the report from RAD’s Project Review Committee, which includes board members Sylvia Fields, Dr. Daniel Rosen and Dr. Kendra J. Ross.

The work for the Project Review Committee will continue next year. RAD 2024 budget's, which was approved last week, provides $500,000 in new funding for project grants – with a continued emphasis on proposals that enhances accessibility and inclusion. Current assets that receive RAD funding are eligible to apply for these project grants year-round, and they are sent to the full board for approval twice annually.

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Journalists with questions can contact RAD Communications Manager James Santelli at js@radworkshere.org