The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Improving accessibilty
CROMWELL — They are not major projects. But they do have a major impact on the lives of a number of residents.
Crews from a contractor are completing a small, but vital upgrade to a portion of the town’s infrastructure by installing sidewalk ramps at various locations throughout town.
It is part of a program designed to improve accessibility for residents who are handicapped.
Under a recently adopted state law, “When you pave roads that are adjacent to state roads, you have to install the ramps,” Director of Public Works Louis J. Spina explained.
The town just completed a series of road improvements to a number of roads, including Catherine, Elm, Missionary and Hillside roads, and Lincoln Road between Timber Hill Road and South Street as well as Community Field Road.
Community Field touches upon Main Street (Route 99) and West Street (Route 372), both of which are state roads. And so crews from Fine Line Construction have been installing the ramps which provide a gradual slope from the sidewalk to a road.
The ramp is especially helpful for residents with mobility issues. The top of the ramp “is covered with a pad or a tile,” Spina said. The hard-plastic tiles are studded with truncated domes, or tactile nodules, that serve to alert residents — particularly those who may have impaired vision — to the impending slope.
Their use is now required under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and they are known by various names.
Aset of yellow truncated domes can be seen on the down-ramp in a parking lot. Their use has been expanded to a variety of uses in other areas, including staircases and railroad platforms.