City of Syracuse ADA Transition Plan Review and Comment Period Opens to the Public for 30 Days Beginning April 16

Plan seeks to make City-maintained sidewalks and right-of-ways easily accessible to pedestrians of all abilities

The public review and comment period for the City of Syracuse Department of Engineering draft Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan will open for 30 days, from Thursday, Apr. 16 to Saturday, May 16. As required by federal law, “a public entity that employs 50 or more persons” must prepare an ADA Transition Plan identifying noncompliance in pedestrian accessible routes and facilities in the municipal public right-of-way, along with a plan and schedule for corrective action. The plan includes an evaluation of all public right-of-ways, identifying where curb ramps, sidewalks and intersection crosswalks need to be improved to meet federal ADA design guidelines.

Within the document, the City outlines plans, policies, and programs that will increase pedestrian accessibility citywide. The inclusive plan does not only address ease of access for individuals with mobility disabilities, it also considers individuals with speech, cognitive, vision, and hearing disabilities.

Through a comprehensive analysis, the City established a ranking matrix of priority areas based on obstacles to be removed, location, and accessibility condition for all pedestrian fairways. Similar to the visual examples from the 2016 New York Sate Department of Transportation ADA Transition Plan (plan “Attachment A”), the public can see where the greatest needs are by viewing data and the rating scale classifying intersections, curb ramps, crosswalks, sidewalks in the City (plan “Attachment D”). ADA accessibility improvements are completed by scheduled Department of Public Works (DPW) road reconstruction projects; the contracted repair of a sidewalk or curb; available federal funding; permits for new developments; and location deficiencies proactively identified by the public.

Comments to be considered in the final version of the plan can be submitted electronically or by mail. All comments to be emailed can be sent to engineering@syrgov.net. Hard copy comments can be mailed to the attention of Ms. Mary E. Robison, P.E., City Engineer, Dept. of Engineering, Room 401 – 233 E. Washington Street, Syracuse, NY 13202.