Settlement orders Seattle to fix, install 22,500 sidewalk ramps
Updated: Jul 18, 2017 - 8:27 AM
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SEATTLE - Seattle will have to fix or install more than 22,000 sidewalks over
the next two decades, according to a report Tuesday morning.
It's part of a settlement to a federal class-action lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed in 2015 by three men claiming the city was violating the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
In Pioneer Square, there’s a perfect example of the challenge people in
wheelchairs face in parts of Seattle.
At Yesler and Second, there's no wheelchair ramp into the crosswalk where there
are somewhat tall curbs.
There's ramps at other nearby crosswalks, but on the other side of Yesler,
people in wheelchairs or those who use walkers have to go into the driveway of
the parking garage to get up onto the curb.
The people who filed the class action lawsuit say there are thousands of such
scenarios in Seattle, where people with disabilities don't have legal access
to crosswalks.
Under the settlement reported by the Seattle Times, the City of Seattle agrees
to build or fix 22,500 sidewalk ramps.
That's 1,250 every year for the next 18 years, at a cost of nearly $300 million.
That dollar amount may drop dramatically with a new expedited process to get
the ramps completed.
The Seattle Department of Transportation has been putting in new sidewalk ramps
even before the lawsuit was filed.
But the settlement, which still has to be approved by a judge, would speed up
the process.
Meanwhile, members of an advisory group for King County's Metro Access plan to
testify at a committee meeting Tuesday morning.
Last month, we reported about a scathing audit that says King County Metro
service for people with disabilities is expensive and inefficient.
The group says it’s concerned those issues aren't being addressed.
© 2017 Cox Media Group.
Source:
http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/settlement-orders-seattle-to-fix-install-22500-sidewalk-ramps/563781442
