Shelton — The Shelton City Council on Sept. 16 adopted an ADA transition plan that inventories curb ramps, sidewalks and other right-of-way features and estimates roughly $29,000,000 in improvements needed for full compliance. Assistant Public Works Director Aaron Next told the council the plan is a prerequisite for many transportation grants and will help the city qualify for state funding.

The transition plan matters because it sets the city’s priorities and timelines for bringing sidewalks, ramps and pedestrian signals into compliance with federal accessibility standards. Aaron Next said the city will treat the work as a long-term program and initially link improvements to paving and other capital projects to reduce costs.

During public comment, at least one resident raised personal safety concerns about failing sidewalks and said broken walkways made it hard to walk safely. The resident’s remarks were echoed by council members who described the ADA work as costly but necessary.

Next explained the plan identifies about $29,000,000 in backlog work and that the city currently expects to allocate roughly $100,000 a year to those improvements, meaning full completion would take decades unless additional funding is secured. He also said the city is developing a mobile app to track repairs and update the inventory as sections are fixed.

The council adopted Resolution No. 1397-0725, formally accepting the July 2025 ADA transition plan produced for the city by Transco Group 8. Council members said adopting the plan will strengthen future grant applications from state and federal transportation programs.

Council discussion noted that standards change over time — for example pedestrian pushbutton heights and ramp slopes — so the plan is a moving target. City staff and councilmembers said the most practical near-term approach is to bundle accessibility fixes with scheduled paving and capital projects and to pursue grant funding to accelerate work.

The action on Sept. 16 was a formal adoption of the plan; no new multi-year funding package was approved at the meeting. Councilmembers nevertheless expressed support for continuing the program and asked staff to pursue grant opportunities and integrate ADA fixes with other street work.

Looking ahead, the council scheduled further budget discussions in October and said the inventory will be used to prioritize projects, support grant applications, and report progress to the public.