On Wednesday, February 5, 2025, Cincinnati council members unanimously passed a motion to enact the requirements to increase visibility and accessibility of wheelchair-accessible restrooms at public events hosted in the city.
The increased wheelchair-accessible restrooms at city-hosted events such as the Flying Pig, Oktoberfest and Taste of Cincinnati directly resulted from LADD’s Empowerment Committee. In May 2024, committee members visited City Hall and met with council members and the Mayor individually to discuss and advocate for increased accessibility in Cincinnati for people with disabilities
After those meetings, Council President Victoria Parks was so moved by her discussion with Empowerment Committee members Annie Callan and Jenny Crowe concerning inadequate numbers of wheelchair-accessible restrooms at outdoor events she introduced a motion to the full council, tasking the city’s administration to research and present a report on how to address the issue.
The result of that report led to the new rule requiring increased accessible restrooms, passed during the February 5 meeting.
Before the final passage of that resolution, Annie and Jenny addressed the council during the public comment section of the meeting.
“We appreciate all you have done,” Jenny said. “We want to congratulate you for making things more accessible to people with disabilities.”
In her address to the audience and fellow council members before voting yes to officially accept the new rule, Council President Victoria Parks had this to say:
“This came about because two ladies from LADD came and spoke to me. The importance of listening to people became crystal clear to me in this instance.”