Editorial: Lawsuit that forced fixing of faulty curb ramps welcome
Curb ramps are necessary for the disabled and need to function properly.
Lawsuits against a government, whether local, state or federal, that ultimately forces millions of dollars to be spent are generally met with grumbles by taxpayers.
Yet, when the aim of a lawsuit is to right wrongs — which does happen on occasion — the lawsuit should be applauded.
That would seem to be the case in Oregon as a lawsuit brought against the state by Disability Rights Oregon resulted in a settlement that will force necessary repairs on 90 percents of the curb ramps along Oregon Department of Transportation-operated highways. The suit found they do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Several highways operated by ODOT function as city streets in Central Oregon communities, with curb ramps at nearly every intersection.
The curb ramps are necessary for the disabled and need to function properly.
Kathy Wilde, litigation director for Disability Rights Oregon, said a 2011 inventory conducted by ODOT found 15,270 of 16,938 intersections maintained by the state had deficient ramps, according to The Bend Bulletin. She said the deficiencies include locations where ramps were never built and where improper construction puts wheelchair users at risk of losing control and rolling into the street or becoming stranded in the street.
These problems are real and serious.
Oregon now has five years to fix 30 percent of all problem ramps identified by the audit and 10 years to update 75 percent of ramps. It must complete all of the ramp work within 15 years.
It won’t be cheap. Although the full cost has not yet been determined, ODOT will spend $5 million this year for the audit and addressing the worst intersections and another $18 million for 2018.
It has to be done.
Of course, the ramps should have been done right in the first place. Yet, for whatever reason, that did not happen.
The lawsuit was the catalyst to fix the problems and, in the end, will serve the public.