DOH to judge ADA status of city crosswalks

Oct. 7—The West Virginia Division of Highways is planning to examine city crosswalks that officials believe could be in violation of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

WVDOH District 10 Manager Joe Pack said Friday that his district has spoken with Beckley Board of Public Works Director Jerry Stump about plans for DOH to visit downtown Beckley. The crew will look at crosswalks that were made when companies that were contracted by DOH installed new traffic lights in the city within the past year. The project started in September 2020.

Beckley Common Council Ward 4 Representative Kevin Price, who is also the Raleigh County fire coordinator, has reported that the placement of the crosswalks could present a problem for people who use a wheelchair. Price is asking for DOH to examine the crosswalks to ensure that the city is ADA-compliant for disabled residents and visitors.

Price said that on Prince Street and Fayette Street, the crosswalks do not meet on each side of the roadway. There is 10 to 15 feet of space, which Price said would place a person in a wheelchair in the middle of traffic when trying to cross on the signal.

"When you look at all the other intersections, the stop bars and the crosswalks are at the actual intersection," he said. "These on Prince Street are probably at least a car length back from the intersection.

"Maybe that's because of where they put the new poles to hold the stoplights," he added. "But to me, it just needs to be straightened out a little bit and moved up.

"It wasn't broken, before," he added.

Price added that the contractors were not to blame but were likely following orders from state officials.

Pack said that Specialty Groups, Inc., completed the $2.6 million project, which was primarily to replace traffic lights but included work to curbs and sidewalks.

Beckley Mayor Rob Rappold reported that RK Construction also worked on the project.

"We have been extremely pleased with the concrete sidewalk work done by RK Construction, the DOH contractor from Frametown," Rappold said on Sept. 29. "We will investigate the curb cut placement described by Councilman Price to determine if DOH needs to re-evaluate their locations.

"ADA compliance is something we take very seriously."

Pack said that 80 percent of the project funding was from federal sources, while the state paid 20 percent.

"The district has been in contact with the City of Beckley engineer and working on a date/time to meet on the site to look at the projects and any concerns the city has," Pack said.

He added that a date for resolving any ADA violations will be determined after the on-site meeting has taken place and DOH officials have spoken with city engineers.

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