Accessible curb ramps on public sidewalks is a core necessity outlined in the ADA. Steep sidewalk curbs put wheelchair users at risk tipping out of their chairs. When curbs aren't accessible, wheelchair users may have to use the street to get where they're going. Colleen Flanagan is a Boston resident who has tipped out of her chair on a curb and broken her arm comments, "It’s 31 years after the American with Disabilities Act, and the public sidewalk really almost just ruined my life... It makes it seem like you're not wanted in that neighborhood.”
Fortunately, this dangerous plight is over for residents in Boston. The city of Boston has agreed to install or upgrade an average of 1,630 curb ramps per year until all of them meet ADA standards. The project is projected to be finished by the end 2030 in time for the city to celebrate its 400th birthday.
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Photo Description: Michael Muehe and Colleen Flanagan sit at the edge of a sidewalk with no curb ramp on the corner of Boylston Street and Belmore Terrace in Jamaica Plain. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)