HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/7/2023 Item 6d, Schmidt (2)
Richard Schmidt <
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Subject:agenda correspondence 6d -- disability ramps
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Item 6d, Anholm bike plan: “ADA ramps” misrepresented
Dear Council,
As you know I’ve been advocating for those with disabilities, and have asked you, the Council, several times to see to it
that the Anholm project include ramps at ALL 31 corners lacking ramps between Ramona and Lincoln on the 3
longitudinal Anholm streets (Broad, Chorro, Lincoln-West).
Is that not a reasonable request?
According to the city, this project offers 46 “new” corner ramps. This factoid has become a much-used positive project
talking point.
Now that detailed contract documents are available it’s finally possible to check facts about the new ramps, and in my
view they ain’t pretty.
Yes, there are 46 ramps, but:
• the majority aren’t new at all; they replacements for existing functional ramps deemed deficient by staff.
• 15 are not in Anholm (downtown or across Foothill)
• 31 are in Anholm, but 15 of those are replacements, 3 are indeterminate from bid document location/description and
may not even be corner ramps and weren’t in my count of 31 needed (Meinecke, Mission “bulbout,” Ramona “crossing”),
one seems superfluous and not in my count of 31 needed (the bids show 4 ramps at Broad/Murray where the T-
intersection with sidewalk on center median of Murray would seem to only need 3), and one is on a side street not in my
count of 31 needed. This reduces the 31 Anhohlm candidate “new” ramps to subtract from the 31 needed by 20.
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• So, only 11 of the “new” Anholm ramps apply towards the 31 needed for
complete disability routes just on our 3 main streets.
• 20 Anholm main street corners will remain unramped after completion of this
project. This truth is very different from talking up “46 corners will get new
ramps.”
To me, this is inexcusable. The city has had more than 30 years now to do this required reasonable accommodation work
and still it dawdles. When this project is completed, even the block that contains The Village, a huge senior housing
complex, will still lack complete ramping.
Please revamp this project so the too-long-delayed Anholm main-street corner ramp system finally gets completed.
Richard Schmidt
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