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Aberdeen reviews draft ADA transition plan; council to consider adoption in December
Summary
Monica Selman of Transportation Solutions presented a draft ADA transition plan that inventories curb ramps, sidewalks and crossings, estimates about $95 million in barrier‑removal costs, and asks council to adopt a final plan in December. Councilmembers praised public engagement and asked for annual progress reporting.
Monica Selman, a planner with Transportation Solutions, told the Aberdeen City Council on Nov. 12 that the draft ADA transition plan for the public right of way identifies barriers, estimates costs and assigns responsibility for implementation. “An ADA transition plan must do 4 things,” Selman said, summarizing the plan’s required elements: identify barriers, describe how to fix them and the costs, set a schedule, and name an official responsible for annual progress.
The plan documents Aberdeen’s inventory — more than 2,000 curb ramps, nearly 2,500 driveways, about 78 miles of sidewalk and roughly 5.5 miles of paved recreational paths — and reports that roughly 58% of curb ramps and 83% of driveways are noncompliant. Selman said the plan’s barrier‑removal cost estimate is approximately $95,000,000 but emphasized that large estimates are typical for comprehensive transition plans and that the city already has barrier‑removal projects built into its six‑year Transportation Improvement Program.
Councilmembers sought clarifications about prioritization and public input. Selman said the plan prioritizes responding to ADA grievances and aligning barrier removal with planned TIP projects. She noted public engagement included a project webpage, a month‑long online survey with a mapped comment tool (10 initial responses), and an in‑person ADA workshop that drew five attendees. Selman said the city received four additional public comments during the final comment window and plans to incorporate them into the final draft.
Selman described required procedural elements: a designated ADA/504 coordinator (the city’s human resources director, per the plan), an ADA grievance procedure, and an accessible pedestrian signal (APS) policy for signalized intersections. “We covered curb ramps, sidewalks, driveways, pedestrian crossings and paved paths,” she said, and recommended the city publish annual progress reports that list built curb ramps and removed barriers.
The council did not take final action on the plan at the Nov. 12 meeting but was asked to support submitting a final version for adoption in December. The next procedural step is incorporation of the recent public comments into the final draft and referral back to council for a formal adoption vote.
