LOS ANGELES, CA (July 30, 2020) — The Bureau of Engineering announced today that Natalie Sparrow has joined the City as the new Americans with Disability Act (ADA) Coordinator for the Sidewalk Repair Program Settlement Agreement. She will manage fulfillment of the agreement and ensure that the City’s Sidewalk Repair Program meets federal, state, and local accessibility requirements.
Sparrow is a Certified ADA Coordinator with extensive experience managing complex compliance programs for local governments and private organizations.
“No matter what we have to do to defeat COVID-19, Los Angeles continues to place accessibility at the heart of every decision we make about our city streets,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Natalie has dedicated herself to designing and developing safer, more inclusive, and more equitable public spaces, and her expertise and creativity will be an invaluable asset to our Bureau of Engineering.”
Most recently, Sparrow worked as the ADA Coordinator for the City of Chino, serving as the city’s primary administrator and authority on the application of accessibility regulations for city programs and services across all departments. In FY 2019-2020, she oversaw accessibility compliance for the scoping, design, and construction of $49 million in public works capital improvement projects and authored the citywide policy, Accessible Pedestrian Facilities in the Public-Right-of-Way. She was named Development Services, Employee of the Year in 2019. Additionally, Sparrow recently led an interdepartmental team at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to satisfy an ongoing Settlement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, bringing their monitoring period to a successful closure in May 2019.
“We are incredibly pleased to welcome Natalie to the sidewalk program,” said Gary Lee Moore, City Engineer. “As the Bureau of Engineering’s ADA Coordinator, Natalie will be an invaluable resource,
advocating for accessibility rights and promoting health and well-being for all Angelenos.”
Sparrow holds a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola Marymount University, a Masters of Public Health from Tulane University, and certification as an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator from the ADA National Network.
Sparrow is a regular speaker at the National ADA Symposium conference speaking on the practical application of accessibility regulations to the built environment and is on the Pacific ADA Center’s steering committee for California Network of ADA Coordinators.
Sparrow’s role will be to oversee all ADA standards, policies compliance issues, procedures and practices affecting pedestrian accessibility in the City of Los Angeles. She will be responsible for conducting annual reviews, reporting on compliance efforts, overseeing grievances and working with the program staff to ensure adoption and maintenance of policies and procedures as outlined in the Sidewalk Repair Program Settlement Agreement.
“I am honored to join the Bureau of Engineering and to support this important and timely work,” said Sparrow. “As a resident Angeleno who enjoys daily walks around my own neighborhood, this is an exciting opportunity to be a part of realizing the City’s commitment to providing all Angelenos the opportunity to participate fully and independently in civic life.”
In December of 2016, the City of Los Angeles launched Safe Sidewalks LA, with a commitment to spending $31 million annually to repair sidewalks in Los Angeles and improving accessibility for everyone. The 30-year, $1.4 billion program is led by the Bureau of Engineering.
For additional information about Safe Sidewalks LA, go to: https://safesidewalks.lacity.org/
About the Bureau of Engineering
The Bureau of Engineering is the City's lead agency for the planning, design and construction management of public buildings, infrastructure and open space projects. Projects include municipal buildings, such as police and fire stations, convention centers, and recreational and cultural facilities, as well as bridges, street and transit projects, and stormwater and wastewater systems. Open space projects include the development of parks and the restoration of wetlands. Engineering also manages permitting for construction in the public right-of-way, as well as the City's state-of-the-art online mapping system.
For more information, please visit http://bpw.lacity.org.
About L.A. City Department of Public Works
The Department of Public Works is comprised of five bureaus: Contract Administration, Engineering, Sanitation, Street Lighting, and Street Services, as well as the Offices of the Board, including the Offices of Community Beautification, Filming and Petroleum Administration. More than 5,500 employees are responsible for design, construction, renovation and operation of public projects ranging from bridges to wastewater treatment plants and libraries; curbside collection and graffiti removal; and maintenance of streets, sidewalks, sewers, streetlights and street trees.
The Department is governed by the Board of Public Works (BPW), a five-member full-time executive team that is committed to delivering projects and programs that enhance quality of life, economic growth, public health and the environment to all Angelenos.
Media Contact
Mary Nemick, Communications Manager
Bureau of Engineering