Northern California cities must dedicate gas-tax revenues to make sidewalks more accessible

From the Contra Costa Times:

Nearly all Contra Costa County cities have agreed to dedicate 5 percent of their gas-tax revenues for the next 30 years to make sidewalks more accessible to people in wheelchairs or who cannot see well, as part of a lawsuit settlement.

The settlement has not yet received final approval; a Sept. 16 hearing will determine whether the judge will accept the class-action settlement terms.

Under the proposed settlement, wheelchair users and other people with vision or mobility disabilities would not be permitted to file additional lawsuits against the cities for the issues covered in the settlement, such as missing curb access ramps, for the duration of the settlement — up to 30 years, unless improvements are completed sooner.

The suits were filed in 2007 by George Louie, a West Sacramento man who has filed hundreds of disabled-access lawsuits in California against cities and businesses. Louie was joined in the suit by Gloria Vaughn and Yvonne White, both of Richmond.

The suit named all the cities in the county except Clayton, Hercules, Oakley and San Ramon.

For the cities named, the suit listed scores of intersections and roads where sidewalks did not comply with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, often because there was no ramp from the curb to the street.

"It's like falling off a cliff when you're in a wheelchair," said Louie, 62. "Those six inches can really hurt you."

Louie also filed nearly identical suits against all the cities in Alameda County. Those cities are not affected by this proposed settlement.

The settlement also sets out a minimum amount for each city to spend on improvements each year. That minimum is approximately equal to 5 percent of gas tax revenue for the 2006-2007 fiscal year. For example, Concord's minimum would be $62,500 per year and Moraga's would be $8,500.

The money would be used on projects chosen by an ADA advisory committee to be chosen in each city. Projects can include installing curb ramps and crosswalks or removing other obstacles to wheelchair access.

The settlement makes sense for cities because those advisory committees will accurately reflect the desires of local disabled communities, said Eugene Elliot, the cities' lawyer.

It also sets up a reasonable and stable funding mechanism for the improvements, he said, adding that it protects the cities from the uncertainty of future lawsuits over the same matters.

Elliot is also representing the cities of Pleasanton and Livermore in similar cases, but no settlements there have yet been proposed, he said.

Disabled people will also "significantly benefit from the extensive injunctive relief" the settlement provides, wrote Morse Mehrban, Louie's lawyer, in a court filing. In contrast, taking the claims to trial would be lengthy, risky and extraordinarily expensive, he wrote.

Louie himself said he has been unable to keep appraised of the details of the cases because of health problems, he said. Louie had a heart attack in June and suffers from chronic kidney failure.

He's not thrilled with the settlement, he said, after a MediaNews reporter described it to him. He approved it, he said, but 30 years is too long to wait for improvements. And 5 percent of gas-tax revenue is not much money, he said.