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San Rafael staff outline ADA self-evaluation and transition-plan timeline; commissioners press for prioritization and follow-up on local accessibility problems
Summary
Public Works said it will advertise an RFP in early July for an ADA self-evaluation and transition plan; commissioners sought clarity on funding, prioritization, curb-ramp inventories and asked staff to follow up on local elevator and accessible-parking problems raised during public comment.
Greg Minor introduced a status update on San Rafael's Americans with Disabilities Act self-evaluation and transition plan. John Thomas of Public Works said the department is targeting early July to post the RFP and hopes to secure a contract and begin phased work this summer. Thomas said the city has allocated $100,000 for phase 1 but expects a full plan to cost between $150,000 and $200,000 based on recent, comparable municipal projects.
Thomas emphasized a practical reason for completing the transition plan: some grant funders, notably Caltrans, may require an adopted transition plan before awarding program grants, which could impede many public-works projects without the plan. "If we don't do this, we're gonna be in a world of hurt from a financial point of view on our projects," Thomas said.
Commissioners asked about recurring funding for actual construction and maintenance work to address accessibility deficiencies. Thomas said accessibility work is often embedded in paving projects and that curb-ramp upgrades commonly represent about 10—to—15% of a paving project's budget; he estimated the city's paving program is roughly $1.5 million annually, implying approximately $150,000 a year toward curb ramps, with separate sidewalk-improvement funds covering public facilities.
During the ADA report segment, commissioners raised local accessibility problems in downtown parking facilities: repeated elevator failures that stranded users, limited accessible parking stalls and EV-charging stations located where accessible stalls previously existed. A commissioner asked staff to follow up with the parking division and the ADA coordinator; Greg Minor committed to doing so.
Next steps: Public Works plans to advertise the RFP in early July and to seek proposals that price both the initial public-right-of-way phase and the remainder of the work so the city can request supplemental appropriations as needed. The commission will use incoming inventories and the consultant's prioritization to inform annual capital-budget requests and follow up on local accessibility maintenance issues raised at the meeting.
