Curb cuts, can ALL of them be marked?

[ThomFritz]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I am not sure if this is the forum to ask this question but I will go ahead and ask it anyway hoping that it will get the right person who will be able to answer my question.

To begin I will tell you a little about my situation. I use a power wheelchair to get around and my sight is not what it once was. I lost a big part of my depth perception so when wheeling on the sidewalk I have trouble determining where the curbs are, vs. the street. So when it comes time to look for a curb cut it becomes almost impossible. There are times when I spend sometimes up to five minutes trying to determine where the curb cut is.

Some of the newer curbcuts are marked with that bright yellow texture coating and are quite easily identified. From what I can gather from my research on the Internet, and my knowledge about how people drag their feet when it comes to accessability issues, the new brightly colored, textured markings are only on curbcuts that have been made after some time in 2011. Yet in some places the curbcuts have been retrofited with the markings, like in shopping centers and even some corners. So my question is:

How would I go about making it a law or a mandate that ALL curbcuts, whether they have been recently created or have been in place for years, be retrofited to have the bright yellow markings? But then again, maybe there is a law for a mandate already in place.

 

[CdwJava]

To make a change in statute/ordinance you would have to lobby the appropriate legislative body. If for your city, lobby the city council or the city manager - maybe even the planning or streets department, depending on how things are made up locally. At the state level it would be your state Assembly person or state Senator.

Money will be the biggest issue, I suspect.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

Curb cuts, detectable warnings, and contrasting colors are all part of federal law, the Americans with Disabilities Act which has been in effect for over twenty years. Curb ramps not up to ADA design standards are required to be updated when there is work on the sidewalk and/or the street beyond routine maintenance (which the US DOJ considers anything more than pothole repair). Find out if your community has an ADA compliance officer or contact person. You may also wish to lol at ADA Home Page - ada.gov - Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act for additional information.

 

[CdwJava]

The problem is that unless work is done, they remain as they were. These days money for streets is diminishing in CA, and money to make cosmetic changes also is in short supply. Hence one reason to seek legislation if one wants to compel the painting of these cuts out here. And, of course, since state legislation here must be revenue neutral, if the state were to create a law mandating that all old cuts be painted, they would have to identify a funding source ... good luck with that!

My city has changed these when they have done modifications, but these mods are slow and small and it may take more than 10 years to reach just the major throughfares in town - and that may not include any sidewalk or curb work.