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Consultant finds nearly 14,000 technical ADA barriers in town rights-of-way; town to prioritize fixes
Summary
A consultant’s ADA assessment for the Town of Indian Trail cataloged 13,968 barriers across roughly 124 miles of rights-of-way and three parks; town staff say many fixes are minor, will be prioritized and some can be done in-house using alternative maintenance techniques.
The Town of Indian Trail received a consultant report showing 13,968 accessibility barriers across about 124 miles of public right-of-way and 101 barriers in three parks, the town council heard at its meeting.
Kevin McDaniel, senior project manager for Precision Infrastructure Management, told the council the count is driven largely by technical measurements — many individual measurement failures on curb ramps, slopes and vertical displacement — not a large number of separate, major obstacles. "These barriers are identified. You may go to a curb ramp. We're measuring for cross slope with slope, distance, placement. You can get a hundred barriers on one thing, just technical, you know, millimeter type barriers," McDaniel said.
The report inspected two town facilities (town hall and the sheriff's office), three parks and the rights-of-way. McDaniel said the buildings performed well relative to the rights-of-way, with 71 facility barriers identified, and emphasized that many of the rights-of-way issues are small but numerous: examples the consultant showed included vertical height displacement (raised sidewalks), obstructions in the pedestrian path such as poles, missing curb ramps where sidewalks end, ponding, and sidewalks narrower than the recommended 48 inches.
Town Manager Michael McLaurin told council members the town will not be asked for a budget decision at the same meeting. Instead staff will return in July with proposed FY26 budget requests that prioritize work from the assessment. McLaurin said the initial five-year cost estimate the administration has discussed is about $450,000, but the consultant provided high-end estimates that the town expects will fall if more work is done in-house or by using alternative maintenance activities.
McDaniel described those alternative maintenance activities — such as grinding, diamond-cutting and reusing existing concrete — as ways to reduce cost versus full concrete replacement for many curb ramp and vertical-displacement issues. "There's significant cost savings in using those alternative maintenance activities," he said, and confirmed the town is already engaging vendors to pursue such options.
Consultant recommendations and next steps communicated at the meeting: staff will (1) identify what fixes can be handled by in-house maintenance, (2) compare vendor estimates for remaining items, (3) return in July with a prioritized, budgeted plan tied to FY26 funding proposals, and (4) provide the council with the full itemized report that maps specific barrier locations and priority levels.
McDaniel told the council federal enforcement focus is on whether a government has a transition plan, not immediate perfection: "What they're just looking for is a plan," he said, describing his experience in other jurisdictions where settlement agreements emphasized a practicable transition plan and reasonable timelines.
The town indicated staff will also review what in the report can be treated as routine maintenance versus capital work for budgeting. McLaurin said some corrective actions will be ongoing annual work embedded in operations while larger items will be prioritized for capital funding.
Ending: The council did not take formal action on the report at the meeting; staff pledged to return in July with a budget proposal and an implementation schedule informed by the consultant's prioritized list.
