After criticism, Rochester's Peace Plaza will undergo safety improvements

Amid pushback from disability advocates over the redesign of Rochester's Peace Plaza, Destination Medical Center officials moved Thursday to begin replacing portions of an art installation that critics say creates a tripping hazard.

By unanimous vote, the DMC Corp. Board authorized $175,000 in state aid to begin replacing select pavers with raised letterings in favor of smoother bricks that officials hope will make it easier for visitors to traverse. The raised pavers, intended to be tactile, are part of a poetry installation by renowned artist Ann Hamilton.

Work on the plaza, set to begin in early spring, comes amid criticism from community members about the safety risks of the pavers, which were installed as part of the city's $19.4 million Heart of the City project. The raised pavers, critics say, are especially problematic for individuals with mobility challenges, including those seeking treatment at Mayo Clinic.

City and DMC officials began to acknowledge the concerns last summer, going as far as to add signage around the plaza warning of uneven surfaces caused by the raised letterings and shifting of pavers. DMC later hired a consultant to engage about a dozen people of differing abilities about potential modifications.

Still, at Thursday's meeting, Rochester City Council President Randy Schubring questioned why it took as long as it did for the request for accessibility improvements to come before the board.

"When things don't go right, we need to address it with community engagement right away," said Schubring, who was elected in 2024 and now serves on the DMC board. "Because that narrative that Peace Plaza hasn't been safe has been buzzing through our community for over a year."

Deputy City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser said modifications to the plaza will likely include widening the pathways around the installation by a few feet to allow visitors to walk around the art installation. Visual cues will also be added, she said, so visitors can distinguish between the art and the walkway.

The city also plans to conduct additional engineering and surveying to determine why some of the pavers in the plaza have had challenges settling. Steinhauser said that review and other forms of community engagement will help determine whether additional work is needed to improve accessibility of the plaza.

"What we know is that the experience on this plaza is not equitable across all users and, in particular, when we think about people that have mobility or visual challenges or impairments, they experience it differently," Steinhauser said. "And what we want to do is try and make it an experience that is more equitable for all."