It’s a fix no one was expecting: A handicap ramp in the middle of the grass.
“What they’re doing out here is kind of useless for anyone,” said Encino Park resident Dwight White.
He calls it “a ramp to nowhere.” The city calls a “resting” spot.
San Antonio Public Works spokesperson April Hernandez said, “But those ADA curb ramps do provide an opportunity for those who are in wheelchairs to get out of the street into a safe location, to get out of the way of vehicular traffic.”
The signs of progress dot the roadside in the Encino Park subdivision. The city said tax money in the general fund combined with some federal stimulus money this year paid for the surge in the city’s construction of wheelchair ramps.
“As a federal mandate, we are trying to become more ADA compliant,” Hernandez added.
But at $1600 per ramp, some neighbors said while they appreciate the gesture, they wondered about the results.
White said, “I just don’t understand it. I’d like to see the money used for something a little more helpful to the people that could use it.”
That’s because the mailboxes sprout from the center of the narrow sidewalk along his street, making it a slalom course—and no wheelchairs can make it through the obstacles to the ramp. The mailboxes' distance from the street is mandated by the US Postal Service.
White said when you throw in the American with Disabilities Act, you can see why neighbors are treading lightly here. Because according to city code, property owners are responsible for maintaining sidewalks. Fixing it all to be Postal and ADA compliant could become part of the homeowner’s financial responsibility.
