Walking up curb ramps, you may not find them to be steep, but if you’re in a wheelchair, that may be challenging. Recently, a San Luis Obispo County project was approved to fix just that and more.
The county is tasked with maintaining 1,000 miles of roads in San Luis Obispo County.
With the nearly $4.6 million annual Surface Treatment Countywide ADA Ramp Improvements Project that was just approved by county supervisors, the project will be doing just as it says: surfacing roadways and fixing curb ramps.
“ADA ramps that were made maybe 20 years ago don’t have slopes that meet federal standards, so it’s a little steeper and harder for wheelchair users to use, so every year the county attempts to replace as many as these as we can,” said San Luis Obispo County Public Works Roads Engineer Kevin Jones.
In Templeton alone, the county will be fixing eight curb ramps, some are right across the street from each other, like the two on Bethel Road and Marbella Lane. One of those two ramps leads into the sidewalk in front of Garrett Kruse’s house.
“This is a neighborhood, and it feels like a family, and so I would say anything that would help my family here in Templeton have more access or feel more comfortable, I would be all in favor of,” Kruse said.
Through the program, 30 to 40 miles can be treated. This year, about 35 miles will be improved and four communities and areas are the main focus: Cambria, Nipomo, San Miguel and Templeton.
For 15-year Templeton resident Erik Stinger, who biked to play at the nearby park with his son Noah when KSBY caught up with him, the upcoming work is welcomed.
“Some of them [the roads] need to get redone, and I’ve noticed that the gravel is rough and stuff like that,” Stinger said. “My son and I, we come to the park almost every day, and it’s gonna be nice to have all those roads done.”
There are a total of 11 curb ramps that will be fixed among those four communities, but out of all of those areas, San Miguel will be getting the biggest makeover.
“We’re resurfacing almost the entire community, and that’s based on our three-year pavement condition survey, so it came back as the community with the lowest overall pavement condition index,” Jones said.
But how an area is determined to get improvement is probably the most work. First, public works interns have to drive along all county roads looking for areas that need a little more love but in the end, it’s all worth it.
“We view spending public money on infrastructure and roadway maintenance as one of the most important parts of our jobs here,” Jones said.
The project will start within six to eight weeks and should be completed right around Thanksgiving.
