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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A 10-year plan to make 8,000 curbs accessible to the disabled is moving toward final approval in federal court, five years after a Layton man sued the state to make it easier to move around near his home.
The Utah Department of Transportation will install curb cuts when there is routine maintenance on a state route, according to the settlement.
The state in the past created curb cuts only during major projects such as repaving. The deal will cost $1 million a year over 10 years. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson will get a final look Oct. 29.
The settlement likely will improve access in rural cities and perhaps encourage communities to improve their own streets, said Kerry Chlarson, attorney at the Disability Law Center, which represented Ronald Decker in the lawsuit.
UDOT's operations director, Tracy Conti, said the settlement is "the right thing to do."
Under federal law, cities have no obligation to install a curb cut until a road or sidewalk is altered. The rules are more stringent for the state because it receives federal money for projects, Benson ruled.
In Bountiful, City Manager Tom Hardy said the city reviews requests for curb cuts and also helps residents get around a barrier until a sloped sidewalk can be installed.
"It's very expensive to put them in," he said, estimating a curb cut costs more than $1,000.
Mark Johnson, who lost muscle strength and coordination from multiple sclerosis, sometimes has to turn his scooter around if he can't find a curb cut in St. George.
He agrees that improving accessibility can be expensive, but he encourages people to push for changes and even consider a lawsuit.
"We need more advocacy. We need to be more vocal," said Johnson, an independent-living specialist with the Red Rock Center for Independence.
The settlement will include major city streets like St. George Boulevard in St. George and Richfield's Main Street, which are maintained by the state.
In Salt Lake City, enough streets have been modified to make traveling easy, said Barbara Toomer, secretary of the Disabled Rights Action Committee.
------ Information from: The Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
