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Oregon City outlines ADA right-of-way transition plan, estimates $18 million to replace noncompliant ramps
Summary
Staff presented a draft ADA transition plan showing about 3,368 ramps in city limits with a ~60% failure rate among inspected ramps; at about $10,000 per ramp and an estimated 1,800 replacements needed, staff said full remediation would cost approximately $18 million and adoption is planned by resolution later this year.
City staff presented Oregon City’s draft ADA transition plan for the public right-of-way during the July 7 work session, providing an inventory, failure rates and a proposed schedule for implementation.
Assistant City Engineer Josh Wheeler told the commission the city’s inventory shows roughly 3,368 ADA ramps within city limits and that staff had inspected about half those ramps so far; inspectors found close to a 60 percent failure rate among inspected locations. “As of the creation of this document we have around 3,368 ADA ramps in the city limits,” Wheeler said, and added that the city has inventoried roughly 3,000 ramps that are the city’s responsibility.
Cost and schedule: Staff estimated an average repair or replacement cost of about $10,000 per ramp and projected that nearly 1,800 ramps will ultimately need replacement. At that rate, Wheeler said, the total cost would be roughly $18 million. He also noted current ramp-repair spending is in the range of $100,000 per year and that, at that funding level, it would take decades to address the backlog.
Scope and approach: The draft plan covers sidewalks, curb ramps, detectable warnings and related right-of-way features; staff noted certain elements (signals, poles and other infrastructure) will require additional technical work and consultant support. The presentation described prioritization rules drawn from federal and state guidance: priority 1 focuses on state and local government public-use areas (government buildings, hospitals, schools), followed by large centers and then single-family neighborhoods.
Staff stressed the plan is intended as a living document. Presenter remarks included that inspections are ongoing at about 20 ramps per month by a single staff inspector and the city has limited in-house capacity, so the right-of-way plan will be rolled into a larger citywide ADA transition plan to be completed in mid-2027. Staff recommended adoption of the right-of-way transition plan by resolution later this summer or fall, with final insertion into an overall city plan in 2027.
Next steps: The commission heard the presentation and asked for follow-up information on prioritized funding options, potential grant opportunities, and whether signal and intersection work should be scoped for consultant review. Staff said they would return with an adoption item and additional financial strategy detail.
