GPMTD to Host Inaugural WOW! ADA Celebration & Resource Fair on July 26, 2022

The Greater Peoria Mass Transit District (GPMTD) is hosting its inaugural WOW! ADA Celebration & Resource Fair on Tuesday, July 26, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Peoria Civic Center (Exhibit Room C). The event is FREE to the public and will be a celebration of the 32nd Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and offer valuable resources to the local ADA community. The GPMTD ADA Committee, chaired by GPMTD Board Trustee Patti Sterling Polk, is spearheading this event.

“One of the goals of the ADA Committee is to serve as an informed advocate for individuals with physical, medical, mental, and cognitive disabilities, and ensure non-discriminatory and accessible transportation. We want this event to meet a need in the Peoria area by offering to provide the local ADA community of all ages with important and useful ADA resources.”

Trustee Patti Sterling Polk

Vendors will be available to provide information on their services and products and hand out free giveaways to attendees. There will also be an opportunity for attendees to enter for raffle prizes courtesy of the GPMTD ADA Committee. Below are the list of planned resources/vendors:

• Advocates for Access
• Central Illinois Agency on Aging
• Central Illinois Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
• Community Workshop and Training Center (CWTC)
• Camp Big Sky
• Easter Seals Central Illinois
• EP!C
• Greater Peoria Mass Transit District (CityLink)
  • CityLink electric bus
• Illinois Assistive Technology Program
• Illinois Central College Access Services
• Just Like You
• Transdev (CityLift & CountyLink services)
  • CityLift & CountyLink vehicles
• Tri-County Regional Planning Commission
• We Hear You

GPMTD’s transportation services – CityLink (fixed route), CityLift (paratransit) and CountyLink (rural) – will have vehicles on-site to showcase their accessibility features. Light hor’dourves and beverages will be served. Parking for event attendees will be free in all Peoria Civic Center parking lots.

The July 26 date was chosen for the event because it is the anniversary of when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990 by President George H.W. Bush. The pandemic prevented a proper celebration of the ADA anniversary the past two years, and it is with great enthusiasm that the GPMTD ADA Committee and staff has planned for this inaugural event.

Free CityLift paratransit service will be available for Pekin residents after the event concludes due to CityLink fixed route service not being available to Pekin at that time. This is open to anyone needing transportation to Pekin and no service qualification is required.

Information on the WOW! ADA Celebration & Resource Fair is available by visiting www.ridecitylink.org/mobility/adaevent.