Judge Veronica Vasquez enhancing accessibility at the Bexar County Courthouse. This story originally appeared in the San Antonio Express News. READ MORE >>
New drop off and pick up zones will help improve access to the historic Bexar County Courthouse just in time for in-person jury proceedings to restart Monday at the nearby Cadena-Reeves Justice Center.
Bexar County Commissioners approved $250,000 in 2020 for the “vehicular accessibility enhancements” at the corner of Nueva and Dwyer streets — to be precise, a drop-off area on Dwyer and a pick-up area on Nueva, separated from passing cars by decorative planters.
Built in 1896, the courthouse has undergone several renovations through the years to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Texas accessibility standards, said Dan Curry, the county’s director of facilities, at a Friday ceremony to dedicate the improvements.
“There’s been hundreds of years of transformation, and each time we wanted to make sure we increased access,” Curry said.
The construction also includes signage so that the zones will be visible for pedestrians to enhance safety near the courthouse back entrance.
“I noticed older people with special needs had problems (getting into court),” she said. “They would be exhausted once they got to the courthouse.”
Bexar County has the state’s highest percentage of people over 65, so the improved way of getting them from a vehicle into the building will help, Judge Vasquez said.
“This is a big deal, a big thing,” said Gordon Hartman, founder of the Gordon Hartman Family Foundation, which helps children and adults deal with the daily obstacles of cognitive and physical special needs.
He credited Vasquez for approaching him and others who could help push for funding the improvements. They conducted an informal test nearly three years ago to see what it was like for someone to park on the second floor of the county garage and maneuver another person in a wheelchair across the street to the courthouse and justice center, Hartman said.
It was not easy, he said, adding, “About 300,000 people have some form of disability (in Bexar County). We have to make sure we do what we can.”
The changes not only will help people who have difficulty getting around, but anyone with business at the courthouse who can be dropped off and picked up without blocking traffic.
State District Judge Ron Rangel, the administrative judge for the criminal courts, remarked on the good timing of the improvements. Up to 650 potential jurors per day will be back in the justice center starting Monday, no longer allowed to go through the process of qualifying for jury duty on Zoom because of a significant decrease in COVID-19 positivity rates.
When the coronavirus shut down most of the world in March 2020, Bexar County halted jury service, something not seen since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Jury trials were on hold for 13 months.
“I’m excited to bring people back in person,” Rangel said. “It will feel like the courthouse is back.”
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