Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday will consider adopting a plan to bring city sidewalks and curb ramps up to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, estimated to cost the city and residents more than $103 million over the next 20 years.
Evan Korynta, ADA compliance manager for the city, gave the commission a presentation on the ADA Right-of-Way Transition Plan in May. Federal law requires cities and states to have ADA transition plans.
“The purpose of the ADA transition plan is to ensure safe, accessible and usable travel paths in the public right of way for all people, including people with disabilities,” Korynta said during his presentation.
Some of the issues the city currently has with sidewalks include trip hazards, major cracks, cross slopes and more, Korynta said in his presentation.
He said the city currently has about 4,500 curb ramps that need to be repaired or replaced, and about 280 miles of sidewalks and shared-use paths that need repair — about 65% of those miles — or full replacement — about 35% of them.
Lawrence property owners are responsible for paying for repairs to sidewalks adjacent to their properties. The city’s proposed budget for the plan would split costs between the city’s revenues and individual property owners.
The proposed 20-year program would combine:
• The city’s existing sidewalk improvement annual investments of $1.928 million;
• Annual capital improvement plan allocations of $2.589 million; and
• Resident cost sharing of $657,750, for a total annual investment of $5.174 million for existing right-of-way infrastructure, according to the meeting agenda.
Multiplied over 20 years, the total program cost would be $103.48 million — $90.33 million from the city (87.3%), and $13.16 million (12.7%) from individual property owners. The first year of the program has been included in the budget the city manager has proposed for 2025.
Under federal law, the city is required to prioritize walkways serving entities that are covered by the ADA, including state and local government offices and facilities, transportation, places of public accommodation, and employers, followed by
walkways serving other areas, according to the transition plan.
See the complete agenda item at this link.
Korynta’s full presentation from May 21 can be found at this link.
Lawrence city commissioners will meet at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, July 15 at City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St. See the full meeting agenda at this link.
Meetings are open to the public and livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@lawrenceksvideo, and Midco channel 25.
People may submit written public comment until noon the day of the meeting by emailing ccagendas@lawrenceks.org. The commission also hears public comment in person and via Zoom during meetings. Register for Tuesday’s Zoom meeting at this link.
Update:
• Lawrence city commissioners approve 20-year, $103M plan to make sidewalks accessible, July 16, 2024
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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