Pierce County Council Feb 11 Recap

At its Feb. 11 meeting, the Pierce County Council approved a plan to bring existing pedestrian facilities – sidewalks, curb ramps, pedestrian push buttons and driveway entrances – into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. By a vote of 6-0, the council passed Proposal No. R2020-161. (Councilmember Pam Roach was excused from attending the meeting.)
Pierce County’s ADA Transition Plan for Public Rights-of-Way applies to county-owned facilities within the public road right-of-way in unincorporated Pierce County.?? “This is a very, very thorough and professional report,” said council Chair Doug Richardson, referencing a Jan. 28 presentation on the topic by the Economic and Infrastructure Development Committee, adding a lot of work needs to be done for the county to be ADA compliant. ??Elements of the plan include how facilities will be evaluated for compliance, how facilities will be prioritized for improvement, how much it will cost to improve each type of facility, funding sources and a timeline for improvements. Also included are design standards and procedure improvements for achieving compliance for new infrastructure. ??Approximately $100 million is needed to bring existing facilities into compliance, based on the 2018 facility inventory, according to Hugh Taylor, senior legislative analyst, noting the county currently spends $1.1 million annually on ADA compliance. The county will update its list of ADA-focused projects each year, he said.
The plan will be updated every five years to track progress, refine prioritization methods and update program costs. Each update will include a public comment period.
According to information contained in the council’s agenda packet, a project to improve accessibility and sidewalk connectivity along Gem Heights Drive East between 176th Street East and 168th Street East in Puyallup is currently being designed, and is expected to be constructed this summer??An overview of the plan is available at: www.piercecountywa.gov/ADAtransition.
In other business, the council approved three ordinances related to franchises for water lines, as well as ordinances cancelling uncollectible personal property taxes, repealing an old version and adopting a new version of the “Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan” and amending the county code regarding reimbursement of moving expenses for employees.?