State regulates curb ramps, but type of bumps may vary

QLike everybody else,

I hate the slippery sheets of yellow bumps at the curb. Sunnyvale seems to have solved this problem. They are using a version which has a very sticky surface that nobody could slip on. Also, the bumps are very small. If every city used these, I think your complaints would drop 90%. — Eric Coblin,

Sunnyvale

AYou took me down a path I didn’t expect to go. The yellow bumpy dots are required by state and federal authorities in heavily-traveled areas, such as shopping centers and transit stations, to help the blind and partially sighted. However, cities have different requirements for their streets.

The state regulates raised domes for projects on private property. Frequently, site entrances, walkways, and parking lots use cheaper yellow plastic domes that are nailed in, making them easier to install.

Cities like Sunnyvale require a higher standard for ADA curb ramps on public streets.

These are highquality precast domes wet-set in the ramp. This is likely the reason they are less slippery than the yellow ones.

There is no movement at this point to change the federal regulations, but more cities are looking at less cumbersome bumps.

QA couple of evenings ago, my wife and I passed a dark van with no front or rear plates, and no sign of temporary plates.

At first we just treated it as a curiosity. Later, we thought about it and remembered a news story where police caught a flash crime mob perpetrator when they followed a no-plate vehicle to their home and found stolen merchandise.

Knowing that cars with no-plates could be a sign of criminal activity or intent, should we have called the police, and followed until the police arrived? — Chuck Beach

APolice do not advise that you pursue the driver, but you can call 911 and provide details about the vehicle, location, and direction they are traveling. Stay safe, but you are right in thinking that information about a vehicle like this could be very important.

QI want to share a situation that I fear will one day lead to a serious, perhaps fatal, accident. Every afternoon commuters return from San Jose and converge on the exit ramp from southbound Highway 101 to Route 25.

Because the ramp is so short and the commuters are many, they line up along the shoulder for a quarter mile or more.

They endanger themselves and other drivers, as they try to keep 101 moving. I sincerely believe that this is an urgent matter.

A

You are right. There are plans to add a traffic light at end of the ramp to help move traffic better. It’s not going to happen soon, but it is planned.