WATERLOO - Jim Ward has been touring the country in a red, white and blue recreational vehicle with his wife and two children hoping to restore interest in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Road to Freedom tour, which has so far stopped in 32 states since November, landed in Waterloo Friday with a police escort, drum corps and awareness event at Young Arena.

The tour coincides with the 17th anniversary of the ADA, co-sponsored by Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin and signed into law in 1990. But Ward said the original intent of the law - to provide equal access and opportunities for disabled - has been weakened by federal court rulings.

"Most Americans are not familiar with the disability rights movement," said Ward, president of ADA Watch and the National Coalition of Disability Rights. "The disabled population still lags behind the general population in terms of employment, poverty and those sorts of things.

"The ADA is not just about curb cuts and wheelchair ramps and automatic doors. It's about making America a place that's inclusive to all, that access to the American dream is not just for some people.

"We are traveling the country calling on America … to urge Congress to pass the ADA restoration act," Ward said. "This will put teeth back in the law."

This week's Road to Freedom event was sponsored by the human rights commissions in Waterloo and Cedar Falls and included a number of social service organizations which work daily with the disabled.

Dave Boyd, president and chief executive officer of Goodwill Industries of Northeast Iowa Inc., was a member of the city's first ADA Compliance Commission, appointed in the early 1990s to review city buildings for accessibility. The commission eventually expanded to focus on public facilities citywide, and most recently complete a pedestrian walkway along Kimball Avenue.

"Once that legislation was passed it took a few years to really start taking hold," Boyd said. "Seventeen years later it's opened up vast opportunities for persons with disabilities … especially in employment and accessibility.

"You can't go anywhere in this country anymore that doesn't have accessible restrooms and automatic doors," he added. "In that sense, it has changed the landscape for persons with disabilities in a positive way."

Contact Tim Jamison at (319) 291-1577 or at tim.jamison@wcfcourier.com.