Saturday, August 15, 2015

5th & Elm paving: Who knew the ADA mandates warning ramps for bocce ball crossings?

We speak now of the 5th Street paving work completed this week, which includes a new surface for the section of 5th Street between Elm and Spring, which soon will be the domain of heavy vehicles used in the Coyle site corporate welfare ripple effect trickle down building project -- but this isn't the point.

Rather ...

Handicapped accessible sidewalk ramps (are) made mostly of concrete but with a nubbed, fiberglass composite insert. The slope of the ramp is designed to aid people with mobility issues. The texture of these nubs – officially called truncated domes – alerts the visually impaired that they are are approaching a crosswalk.

These are ADA-mandated, and also are referred to as warning pads or truncated dome pavers. You can see two of them here.


But the one on the southwest corner of 5th & Elm is gone.


Look -- here it is, tossed over the fence.


There's a metaphor luring here somewhere. I just can't put my finger on it.

1 comment:

w&la said...

You know, it really seems they just don't care...