City approves plan to make curbs, sidewalks ADA compliant

A plan to make to make El Paso curbs and sidewalks compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act is underway.

El Paso City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to authorize City Manager Tommy Gonzalez to transfer $500,000 of unused funds from fiscal 2015 to fiscal 2016. The money is coming from savings identified by Gonzalez.

Gonzalez must also find a permanent funding plan.

The city estimated it would cost $15 million to make all ramps in the city ADA compliant. That does not include sidewalks and other ADA-related street work.

During public comment on Tuesday, several people urged council to cut curbs and sidewalks.

“I don’t want to have to die for you all to do something because it’s very scary just go leave my apartment,” one woman told council.

Another speaker, George Lozano, told council many disabled persons have no choice but to cross busy streets on their wheelchair without crosswalk.

Gonzalez, whom several speakers thanked for being responsive for their requests, said he will come back with plan for permanent funding for annual ADA improvements.

“Disabled people have been waiting far too long to see improvements that would make the city more accessible to them. This is long overdue,” said City Rep. Emma Acosta, who suggested exploring a voter-approved penny tax rate hike to fund ADA improvements.