Dakota County presents 2024 ADA transition plan update; curb ramp compliance rises to 97%

Dakota County transportation staff presented an update Jan. 21 on the county’s 2024 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition plan for county rights of way, summarizing a facility inventory, compliance findings and implementation priorities.

Doug Peters, county transportation staff, told the board the update inventories sidewalks, trails, traffic signals and curb ramps and is posted on the county website. He said staff surveyed approximately 404 miles of roadway corridors that could contain pedestrian facilities and completed inventories covering 52 miles of sidewalk, 192 miles of trail, 142 traffic signals and about 3,700 pedestrian ramp locations.

"In 2016, staff conducted an inventory of these facilities to develop the county's first ADA transition plan. In 2024, staff determined that the timing was appropriate for an update," Peters said. The update compares current conditions to 2016 baselines and identifies implementation targets to guide future transportation projects.

Key findings presented by staff: - Sidewalks and trails: inventory shows roughly 52 miles of sidewalk (concentrated in northern/established areas) and an increase of about 53 miles of trails since 2016. Staff measured an increase in segments judged substantially compliant from about 95% in 2016 to 98% in 2024. - Traffic signals (APS): Accessible pedestrian signals (APS) — devices that provide audible or vibrotactile crossing information — were present at about 17% of controlled signals in 2016 and about 58% in 2024. Staff reported targets of 90% APS coverage by 2027 and 100% by 2037. - Curb ramps: compliance rose from about 78% in 2016 to 97% in the 2024 inventory. Staff identified roughly 129 curb ramp locations that still need installation or modification (for example, missing ramps or older ramp types without truncated domes).

Peters and commissioners noted the county generally addresses accessibility needs in coordination with highway reconstruction and overlay projects to capture economies of scale. Staff said two particularly visible before/after examples of accessibility upgrades were projects in Burnsville and near Simley High School in Inver Grove Heights.

Commissioners asked technical questions about jurisdictional control of signals, criteria for classifying sidewalks versus trails (width primarily), and funding approaches such as seeking regional solicitation or separate grant opportunities for pedestrian work.

The county will continue to incorporate ADA upgrades into planned highway projects and said the full transition plan and segment inventories are available on the county website for reference. No board action was required; the item was informational.