University of Virginia West Lawn Accessibility Study

The Academical Village at the University of Virginia has been a listed site on the National Register of Historic Places since 1966, and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987. The goal of the study is to investigate the options for making the length of the west side of the Lawn fully navigable by persons with impaired mobility.

54 students live on the Lawn, and the University aspires that each of them – regardless of their degree of mobility – have unencumbered social communication and transit on the Lawn. Significant progress has been made since the 1993 ADA Accessibility Study. However, existing ramps and barrier‐free routes at the University are not as well signed as they could be, and awareness of at least some of these routes is limited.

Why is it so difficult to make accessibility improvements to this space? Is the Lawn intended for all members of the University community? Do we want to have an inclusive shared space on the Lawn, or not?

It is acknowledged by all parties that there is no solution or combination of solutions that are impact‐ free. The historic fabric of the Lawn and the significance of the architecture make such a scenario impossible. Review by Virginia Department of Historic Resources will be required for any proposed alternatives for improving accessibility.

The Lawn presents difficult challenges to which there may not be a clearly superior solution, but rather a series of alternatives all of which have varying detrimental impacts. The University, interested parties, and the reviewing jurisdictions will have to determine the extent to which the goals of historic preservation and accessibility can each compromise in this historic, symbolic, and vital place.