Owner of October Zone urges Cheraw to fix ADA ramp, says current placement forces wheelchair users into traffic

Trish Liner, owner of the October Zone consignment shop at 114 Deval Street, told the Cheraw Town Council on April 14 that a curb ramp installed in February leaves her storefront inaccessible to customers who use mobility devices unless they enter a two-way street and walk roughly 50 feet into oncoming traffic to reach the sidewalk.

"A ramp was installed in February. However, it was placed in such a way that any person using a mobility device must now walk onto a two-way asphalt street and continue for 50 ft into oncoming traffic to access it," Liner told the council. She urged the town to install an additional ramp across the street aligned with the adjacent parking lot and to add a crosswalk so patrons would not need to cross into traffic, and she asked the council to apply federal ADA guidelines in the remedy.

Town Manager Brian said staff had reviewed the photos Liner provided and that the town was "actively looking into" a better remedy, including the potential to add a ramp across the street and a crosswalk in that area. "Her suggestion sounds really well and we are actively looking into better remedying the situation," Brian said.

Liner told the council the lack of accessible access had cost her potential revenue as a new business and asked officials to act quickly. Council members thanked Liner for bringing the problem to the council's attention and directed staff to review options; no deadline for repairs was set in the public meeting.

The ADA complaint came during the public-comment portion of the meeting; related accessibility and historic-district guideline discussions were deferred earlier when the council postponed a public hearing on a proposed historic-district zoning ordinance to allow time for residents to review revised guidelines at town hall and online.