Handicapped Ramps

By Aaron McConachie

According to a report released by the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.7 million Americans in 2002 reported using a wheelchair.  1.8 million claimed to be completely unable to see. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act was established, among other things, to facilitate safer travel for pedestrians with mobility and visual impairments.  To accommodate wheelchair users, the ADA requires all newly built or altered sidewalks to incorporate handicapped ramps which gradually lower the height of the boundary between sidewalk and roadway making access across streets safer and more convenient.  Specific lengths and widths combined with slope requirements ensure a smooth transition to minimize the amount of effort needed to pass over the curb line. 

While excellent features for people who use wheelchairs, handicapped ramps have the opposite effect for visually impaired pedestrians.  The gradual transition leading down from the sidewalk toward the roadway does not provide adequate notice of the approaching hazardous vehicular way.  Prior to the installation of ramps, the visually impaired could detect the road’s edge by the change of elevation at the curb side. 

To appease both the wheelchair and visual communities curb ramps are now required to include detectable warning surfaces which can be detected by cane or underfoot to alert visually impaired pedestrians of the upcoming roadway.

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