Curb ramps to have detectable warning extending the full width and depth of the curb 
ramp, excluding flared sides, inside grooved border. Note: DSA IR 11B-4 indicates that a detectable warning 36” wide in direction of travel for full width of curb ramp will be acceptable.
CBC 1127B.5.7 ADAAG 4.7.7
I live in California and the City Engineer does not believe that Curb Ramps are necessary when there are no Bus stops on one side of the road. In order to access the Bus stops (2) the same side in question has no sidewalk also, so you are forced to cross the road.
The disabled are forced to travel down a step grade and at one point there is no Bike Lane also.
It would be nice if the City would take this seriously, this is a dangerous situation for disabled people. The total length of the roadway in question is over a 1/2 mile. This is also a very busy main side access street.
Whoa – I’m astonished that your City Engineer is not taking this seriously. I can’t tell you how many municipalities in California have had to take action to improve access for disabled individuals on their city streets.
Those yellow, bumpy ramps are very azardous to those walking with a cane,a walker, rolling in a chair or scooter. In addition, they are very slippery when wet. Could someone please explain why we need them. I understand the color, for detectable warning, but why those awful bumps?
It’s simple – those yellow bumpy things are a signal for people who are visually impaired, that they are moving from a pedestrian area into an area with vehicular traffic. They are intended to be detectable by a blind person using a cane. Where there is a sidewalk and curb, the curb informs a blind person of the “edge” between the pedestrian sidewalk and the vehicular roadway. Where there is a “curb cut” at an intersection where the sidewalk slopes down so a person in a wheelchair can move through a crosswalk, the detectable warnings serve as a signal to individuals who are blind of visually impaired.
It’s not perfect. There are any number of issues with detectable warnings, but it’s what we are working with today.
There is an architect on a job that is telling me that there is a new ADA law in California that does not require the grooved border on curb ramps Is that true ?
That’s correct – the grooved border at the top of curb ramps is no longer required by the California Building Code.
Are neighborhood sidewalks required to have curb rams for wheelchair and handicap persons? Our development has no curb. Ramps which being in a wheelchair makes it hazardous traveling on the street with cars.
Without seeing a photograph, it’s difficult to say, but what I’m imagining is that there is some sort of swale between the asphalt & the sidewalk in lieu of a curb. From everything I know, curb ramps are required specifically when there is a curb to provide access to wheelchairs and individuals with disabilities.