Two recent major building
projects by the city of Stillwater have either violated or initially
ignored the Americans with Disabilities Act. In both the Lift Bridge
renovation and the Washington Park reconstruction, curb cuts (or
legal curb cuts) were not included in certain areas. These apparent
violations have not resulted in fines.
The city of Stillwater,
Minnesota, twenty miles east of the Twin Cities, is typical of
many cities with building codes derived from the ADA, cities with
an implied ongoing commitment to full accessibility. But many of
Stillwater’s curb cuts and sidewalks were built before
the ADA came into effect and are difficult for wheelchair-users to
use. Until recently, most wheelchair-users had to travel in the streets
or depend on paratransit for local trips. The city’s ongoing
project of adding or replacing curb cuts, along with the new paved “trail” to
a major shopping center, have vastly improved local accessibility.
Nevertheless, the people
in charge of two recent major projects chose to ignore ADA requirements
for accessible curb cuts. The first, the $5-million renovation
of the Stillwater Lift Bridge over the St. Croix River, originally
had plans to upgrade the bridge’s
pedestrian walkway without replacing its old, stepped curb cut to
the street.
When the state agency
overseeing the project was reminded of the ADA requirement, they
agreed (after some resistance) to replace the old curb cut. The
new one, however, does not meet legal requirements; it has a slope
of 1-in-7 (a 7-inch rise in a 50-inch run), nearly twice as steep
as the ADA’s minimum requirement of 1-in-12. What’s
worse, the 13 feet of the sidewalk beyond the curb cut was replaced
at the same time, so there was plenty of room for a properly-sloped
ramp.
The second project is the reconstruction of Washington Square Park.
The new park includes a parking lot with one marked, accessible parking
space with a curb cut. The park also features a serpentine brick walkway
through the park which allows wheelchair access to every gazebo and
pavilion and bench.
Unfortunately, the new
park also includes an apparent ADA violation. On the side of the
park where the new parking lot is, there’s
a brand-new city sidewalk. Unfortunately, the last stretch of this
sidewalk simply dead-ends at a ridge of grass at the neighboring
private property, such that a pedestrian using a wheelchair (or a
parent pushing a stroller) must either struggle across the ridge
of grass or backtrack to the curb cut in the parking lot. This seems
to be a violation of the ADA, which requires sidewalks to be ramped
at each end and at all intersections.
Instead of building
in the curb cut while the park was still under construction, as
requested, the city chose to put up a small sign near the sidewalk’s dead end, saying, “NO ACCESSIBLE RAMP AHEAD—DEAD
END SIDE-WALK IN 40 FEET.” The sign sums up the situation perfectly;
the sidewalk exists but wheelchair users are not welcome to use it—much
like other signs of segregation in civil-rights history. Both the
dead-end sidewalk and its sign are an embarrassment; the city should
never have allowed this dead-end to happen in the first place. ![]()
Ken Moses, though retired,
has been an active advocate for disability-rights matters for decades,
and was the recipient of the city of Stillwater’s
2006 Human Rights Award for his achievements. He’s also an
audio describers for Twin Cities theatergoers.
