ODOT settlement that replaces thousands of curb ramps wins court approval
The Oregon Department of Transportation will have to replace up to 90 percent of the curb ramps along highways as part of a legal settlement with disability rights advocates. It also has to upgrade crossing signals.
The settlement with Disability Rights Oregon, as outlined by The Oregonian/OregonLive in November and approved by a federal judge on Monday, is the largest commitment to accessible transportation in state history.
The state agreed to spend $5 million to install 10,000 curb ramps and 1,500 pedestrian crossing signals, as well as earmark $18 million for similar retrofits starting in 2018. The state also agreed to create a public process by which people with disabilities can request accessible street features or report a problem curb ramp.
Disability Rights Oregon says that a 2011 inventory conducted by ODOT found that 15,270 of 16,938 intersections maintained by the state had deficient ramps. The group says those deficiencies include places where improper construction puts wheelchair users at risk of rolling into streets.
Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2017/03/judge_oks_odot_settlement_that.html