Curb cuts and the Americans with Disability Act

The first curb cuts in the United States were pioneered in Berkeley, California in 1970, according to a commemorative plaque there. Curb cuts initially designed for wheelchair users are also used by people with baby carriages, delivery people, and people using any wheeled device. They are also used by visually impaired pedestrians who found that a curb cut eliminates their warning of a hazardous vehicle way by eliminating the traditional curb drop off. Due to this issue of providing access to one group of the disabled while creating a harmful environment for another, the government had to specifically address curb cuts in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This issue was resolved by requiring Tactile Detectable Warnings by installed on all curb cuts or curb ramps built after 2001.

The ADA has profoundly changed how society views and accommodates its citizens with disabilities. Universal design -- the practice of designing products, buildings and public spaces and programs to be usable by the greatest number of people -- has helped create a society where curb cuts, ramps, lifts on buses, and other access designs such as detectable warnings systems are increasingly common. In the process, we have discovered that an accessible society is good for everyone, not just people with disabilities.

The ADA has created a more inclusive climate where local government, companies, institutions, and organizations are reaching out far more often to people with disabilities. Colleges and universities, for example, now accommodate more people with disabilities than they did before ADA, even though they have been obligated by law for nearly 25 years to make their campus and classrooms accessible.

The implementation of curb cuts as specified in the Americans with Disabilities Act is one example of how the ADA has addressed a need for two separate groups of the disabled with one complete solution. A curb cut that incorporates a tactile detectable warning for the visually impaired. This combination brings us one step closer to having a society that truly incorporates the principals of universal design.

By
John A. Heffner

 

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