KIRKSVILLE, Missouri — The City of Kirksville is currently in the process of updating its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition plan.
A large part of the plan involves modernizing and maintaining sidewalks in the community.
For this reason, city leaders and volunteers met with Troy Balthazor, director of the Great Plains ADA Center, to learn ADA guidelines for sidewalks.
“We determine their ADA compliance and then use that information to develop our plan to bring them up to speed,” says Ashley Young, Kirksville’s community and economic development director.
Balthazor told KTVO that a city’s sidewalks are one of the first things he looks at when he arrives in a new community because they are critical to traffic.
“The sidewalks allow a lot of people who can’t drive to get around. And I think that’s particularly helpful in a college town like Kirksville with its many students and heavy pedestrian traffic. It’s a way to show how a city deals with pedestrians or non-motorized traffic,” Balthazor said.
Balthazor added that the guidelines set by the ADA for sidewalks are critical for people with disabilities.
By adhering to these guidelines, cities open up opportunities to integrate all citizens into the community.
“The sidewalks and providing sidewalks that people in wheelchairs, with walkers and other ways can use is exactly how we level the playing field for everyone,” Balthazor said. “We found that when we design for people with certain so-called disabilities, we design for everyone and it becomes better for everyone.”
Ashley Young, Kirksville’s director of community and economic development, told KTVO that the city is in the data collection phase of its transition plan.
Workers will use the information they received Wednesday to determine which sidewalks need to be resurfaced and help the city plan for necessary future changes.
“Then we use that information to put the plan together. There are a lot of moving parts involved, like funding opportunities for planning and the actual construction. We have to work with the owners of the adjacent properties. It’s a team effort that involves the entire community,” Young said.
