Clark County's draft ADA transition plan flags hundreds of miles of missing sidewalks and thousands of curb-ramp issues

Michael Sales, a Clark County planner, presented the county's draft ADA transition plan at a planning commission work session on April 16, outlining inspection results, costs and next steps to address accessibility gaps in unincorporated areas.

The findings: Sales said visual-inspection compliance counts for curb ramps and other features were included in staff materials and pointed to a large inventory of deficiencies. He said the visual inspection (2019) identified "two plus million" linear feet of missing sidewalk across the unincorporated county, which he described as "a little bit over 400 miles," and that some curb-ramp counts were listed as compliant (4,289) while the remainder have deficiencies. Staff emphasized the different scopes of the sidewalk estimates: Poisoner's transportation analysis earlier referenced ~84 miles of missing sidewalks on higher-volume roads as part of the transportation-element project screening, while Sales's ADA inventory described the broader countywide sidewalk gap identified by the visual inspection.

How the county plans to act: Sales said the ADA transition plan will allow public-works and community-planning staff to designate capital projects specifically to fix curb ramps and missing sidewalks (rather than treating them only as maintenance). He noted typical grant sources (Transportation Alternatives Program, Safe Routes to School) and said consultants will provide planning-level cost estimates to inform the capital facilities financial plan.

Costs and scope: Staff presented preliminary consultant estimates for sidewalk-only replacements and said those figures do not always include curb-cut modifications; adding curb ramps would increase project costs. The county also said some work may be performed in-house by maintenance crews while larger capital projects could be designed or contracted through consultants.

Quotes and context: "The whole premise behind this ADA transition plan is to make public works do capital projects for those purposes only," Sales said, describing a shift from piecemeal maintenance to planned capital funding. An attorney in the meeting, Alicia, urged the county to prioritize curb cuts and ramps, saying accessible sidewalks can reduce liability and prevent serious incidents.

Open questions: Commissioners asked whether the missing-sidewalk totals reported by staff represent duplicative counting or different scopes (corridor-focused vs. countywide inventory), whether cost estimates include curb ramps and how much the county can absorb versus what must come from grants or developer frontage improvements. Staff said consultants will provide better cost estimates during the CFP development and that impact fees do not correct existing deficiencies; fees apply to growth-related needs.

What's next: Staff will incorporate ADA-project cost estimates into the 20-year CFP and the finance subelement, identify funding strategies (grants, developer frontage improvements, phased county projects) and include ADA elements in the overall transportation implementation program. The work is ongoing and staff said they will return with more-detailed cost estimates and maps of deficiencies.