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US Department of Justice Reaches Agreement with North Adams

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement with North Adams to improve access for people with disabilities.

Announced Tuesday, the agreement was reached under Project Civic Access, the Justice Department's initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The compliance review began after a complaint that the city's police station was physically inaccessible.

Under the agreement, North Adams will take steps to improve access for people with disabilities. That will include equipping 911 call stations with machines used by deaf and hard of hearing people to communicate, removing barriers to access at polling places and making voter registration materials available in other formats, including Braille.

The department will monitor the city's compliance until the required actions have been completed.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Lucas Willard is a news reporter and host at WAMC Northeast Public Radio, which he joined in 2011. He produces and hosts The Best of Our Knowledge and WAMC Listening Party.