By Town Crier Staff Report
Recent street improvements intended to make Los Altos sidewalks more accessible for disabled residents seem like they would be better suited for San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House, according to neighbors near North Gordon Way.
At least two newly-installed sidewalk ramps appear to go nowhere and deadend into bushes and flower beds, neighbors have complained.
Public Works Director Jim Porter said the curb cuts are part of the city’s effort to comply with the Federal government’s Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, which require cities to provide curb ramps when ever a public sidewalk crosses a curb or there’s a change in street level at a crossing. He said Gordon has a paved shoulder with corner curbs and would not meet federal standards if left unimproved. The ramps provide wheelchair access across the street without going into the street, he said.
“There’s a solid shoulder that these ramps can access. They provide wheelchair access for those who don’t want to go into the street,” he said.
Porter said the city did not intend to remove shrubs or flower beds or make other improvements to the curb-cut areas.
He said the ramps under criticism “actually go somewhere” and provide through access for pedestrians.
The Gordon ramps are part of 28 curb cuts that the Los Altos Council approved earlier this year, based on a 1999 citywide survey that identified 318 locations where the city should install new ramps.
A volunteer committee helped prioritize the order of street improvements based on the location of handicapped residents, school areas, bus stops and existing ramps, according to a city report.
The identified ramps would cost about $382,000 to install or about $1,500 each, according to a city report.
The council approved $193,164 for curb cuts in this year’s budget. Of that amount, the council redirected $176,000 in Community Development Block Grant Funds, initially dedicated for below-market-rate housing at the Tree Farm property, toward the street improvements after the Tree Farm developer pulled out of the housing deal.
Community Development Block Grant Funds are federal funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, distributed through the county, which cities must be use to serve the needs of lower-income people, either with the construction and acquisition of housing or through providing public services. Curb cuts are included in the funding list.
