The Manhattan City Commission approved a new plan for ADA compliance at Tuesday’s meeting.
Since Summer 2022, the City has been working with consultants Kimley-Horn to conduct a Phase 1 Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan to created a roadmap to update it’s ADA Transition Plan over time. The plan has identified $11 million dollars in estimated costs. Full implementation over 25 years is estimated at $469,500 per year.
Mayor Mark Hatesohl sought clarification on the plan at Tuesday’s meeting.
Professional Engineer for Kimley-Horn, Erin Eurek, explains that while the initial construction was ADA compliant, maintenance can change that. Eurek’s example was, “tree roots may have heaved the sidewalk, creating cracks and other issues in the concrete itself.”
Commissioner Wynn Butler expressed his perspective on how this plan should be tackled.
The city’s current ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition plan has not been updated since 1995. The U.Ss Department of Justice requested through the Kansas Department of Transportation that all cities update their transition plans by 2023.
