Columbus project makes city's neighborhoods more ADA accessible

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)-- While many curb ramps around Columbus are compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), some are not, and the city is working to fix that. 

The work is included in the city's 2025 ADA Curb Ramp Project. The project lists 239 ramps at about 70 intersections to be worked on, according to the Columbus Department of Public Service (DPS). One of the intersections the city plans to work on is Dennison Avenue and West Sixth Avenue.

“We were talking about cuts that don't meet current standards, this would be one, and that would be one," resident Chuck Fairbanks said as he pointed out some issues at that intersection in the University District.

Fairbanks has lived in the area for decades and been a wheelchair user since the late 1970s, so he knows the sidewalks and curb ramps to the streets well. He said the city's made a lot of progress since he was in college.

“Currently, we’re doing pretty well, I think, with a few exceptions, but I can only think of two or three places where there’s not a cut where there should be," he said.

But there is still work to be done. Ramps are required to be a certain width and have a specified slope. They also need to have what DPS deputy director James Young referred to as detectable warnings. At many intersections, that is a red mat with bumps in a grid-like pattern. Several spots in Fairbanks' neighborhood do not have those.

"We have about 56,000 ramps in the city, so it doesn't sound like we’re making improvements, but a lot of them are compliant; we are making gradual increases and improvements in the system," Young said. 

The 2025 project will cost around $1.2 million.

“We want to make sure people have the means to get around their neighborhood, so a lot of times when we’re going through, it’s literally how do you get to places you need to be, and having that ramp in there makes it just easier to access your neighborhood," Young said.

The work on this year's project is expected to start in the fall, according to DPS. Young said the department usually decides where to do the work based on 311 requests and employees noticing problems.