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SAWHORSE
Disabled activist sues Yuba City over access at 44 intersections
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/ada-117297-city-yuba.html
June 23, 2012 11:13:23 PM
As Yuba City prepares a new plan to identify and eliminate access barriers for disabled residents, it has been slammed by a new lawsuit alleging a lack of access.
PUBLIC HEARING:
Public hearing on Yuba City’s ADA Self-Evaluation and transition plan.
10 a.m. Monday. City Hall, council chambers
George Louie, a West Sacramento man who has filed lawsuits against scores of local businesses, says in one of his newest cases, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, that Yuba City has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The suit claims the city denied mobility-disabled individuals access to public rights of way, curb ramps and sidewalks at 44 intersections and inaccessible picnic tables at Hillcrest Park.
Click here to read the lawsuit.
http://richmedia.onset.freedom.com/marysville/m63eow-louie.pdf
It seeks injunctive relief to remove the access barriers and monetary damages.
Louie had his right leg amputated in 1996 due to diabetes-related gangrene. He uses a wheelchair and a prosthetic limb.
George Musallam, director of public works and utilities, was not available Friday to comment on the case.
The lawsuit's timing coincides with completion of the city's self-evaluation and transition plan, which aims to correct noncompliant areas within city limits. The plan had been in the works long before Louie's lawsuit.
The plan's importance is two-fold, said Diana Langley, deputy director of public works. First, is the full list of noncompliant items the city has developed and is prioritizing for corrective action, and second is creating a public process to submit grievances to the city regarding obstacles in the city's right-of-way.
The city's estimated cost to make all curb ramps within the city compliant is $18 million. It would cost $5.2 million to fix the noncompliant sidewalks and $224,000 to upgrade bus stops.
"It's significant, but I think the purpose of this is to go through the process and see where the city has barriers and where the city needs improvement," Langley said.
Residents can help by offering comment on where they find barriers and which they would like to see improved first. A public hearing is 10 a.m. Monday at City Hall.
For its first year of improvements, the city is proposing to improve areas around City Hall and Sutter County offices, and the ramps and bus stops near the new Veterans Administration outpatient clinic on Plumas Boulevard.
The city will be spending $300,000 a year to correct noncompliant curbs, sidewalks and bus stops, with funding coming from Community Development Block Grant, gas tax funds and potentially other grants, such as those through Safe Routes to Schools.
The city has received access suggestions from residents in the past and addresses them as it can, Langley said. It also looks to improve compliance in any areas undergoing public works improvements.
In 2010, Yuba City proceeded with increasing ADA parking spaces on Plumas Street after an access complaint from a resident to the federal Department of Justice.
The City Council is expected to adopt the final plan July 17, with the expectation the renovations would begin this fall.
Read more: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/ada-117297-city-yuba.html#ixzz1yiOTNwmL
http://www.appeal-democrat.com/news/ada-117297-city-yuba.html
June 23, 2012 11:13:23 PM
As Yuba City prepares a new plan to identify and eliminate access barriers for disabled residents, it has been slammed by a new lawsuit alleging a lack of access.
PUBLIC HEARING:
Public hearing on Yuba City’s ADA Self-Evaluation and transition plan.
10 a.m. Monday. City Hall, council chambers
George Louie, a West Sacramento man who has filed lawsuits against scores of local businesses, says in one of his newest cases, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, that Yuba City has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The suit claims the city denied mobility-disabled individuals access to public rights of way, curb ramps and sidewalks at 44 intersections and inaccessible picnic tables at Hillcrest Park.
Click here to read the lawsuit.
http://richmedia.onset.freedom.com/marysville/m63eow-louie.pdf
It seeks injunctive relief to remove the access barriers and monetary damages.
Louie had his right leg amputated in 1996 due to diabetes-related gangrene. He uses a wheelchair and a prosthetic limb.
George Musallam, director of public works and utilities, was not available Friday to comment on the case.
The lawsuit's timing coincides with completion of the city's self-evaluation and transition plan, which aims to correct noncompliant areas within city limits. The plan had been in the works long before Louie's lawsuit.
The plan's importance is two-fold, said Diana Langley, deputy director of public works. First, is the full list of noncompliant items the city has developed and is prioritizing for corrective action, and second is creating a public process to submit grievances to the city regarding obstacles in the city's right-of-way.
The city's estimated cost to make all curb ramps within the city compliant is $18 million. It would cost $5.2 million to fix the noncompliant sidewalks and $224,000 to upgrade bus stops.
"It's significant, but I think the purpose of this is to go through the process and see where the city has barriers and where the city needs improvement," Langley said.
Residents can help by offering comment on where they find barriers and which they would like to see improved first. A public hearing is 10 a.m. Monday at City Hall.
For its first year of improvements, the city is proposing to improve areas around City Hall and Sutter County offices, and the ramps and bus stops near the new Veterans Administration outpatient clinic on Plumas Boulevard.
The city will be spending $300,000 a year to correct noncompliant curbs, sidewalks and bus stops, with funding coming from Community Development Block Grant, gas tax funds and potentially other grants, such as those through Safe Routes to Schools.
The city has received access suggestions from residents in the past and addresses them as it can, Langley said. It also looks to improve compliance in any areas undergoing public works improvements.
In 2010, Yuba City proceeded with increasing ADA parking spaces on Plumas Street after an access complaint from a resident to the federal Department of Justice.
The City Council is expected to adopt the final plan July 17, with the expectation the renovations would begin this fall.
Read more: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/articles/ada-117297-city-yuba.html#ixzz1yiOTNwmL
