Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday approved a plan to bring city sidewalks and curb ramps up to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The plan is estimated to cost the city and residents about $103.5 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 and returned to speak to the commission Tuesday.
Federal law requires cities and states to have ADA transition plans to ensure that all people can access travel paths.
Some of the issues the city currently has with sidewalks include trip hazards, major cracks, cross slopes and more, Korynta reiterated on Tuesday. 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.
Vice Mayor Mike Dever asked to clarify whether the commission was approving specific funds for anything in the plan on Tuesday.
“The funding will be tied to the (capital improvement plan), and that’s something we’ll be discussing in the future,” Mayor Bart Littlejohn said.
Lawrence property owners are responsible for paying for repairs to sidewalks adjacent to their properties. Commissioner Lisa Larsen noted Tuesday that if a sidewalk is damaged by a street tree crew or utility line, that’s paid for by the city.
Korynta said the city used five years’ worth of sidewalk improvement data to project cost estimates.
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.
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.
Commissioners approved the ADA transition plan on a 5-0 vote.
The city is also working on a brick streets and sidewalks policy. Brick sidewalks, too, will need to be updated to accessible standards.
See the full transition plan at this link.
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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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