Sidewalk accessibility is something every community should be focused on to ensure people who use wheelchairs or crutches are able to easily navigate the city safely. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has a number of guidelines in place that help ensure accessibility for people with disabilities in all areas, including transportation infrastructure. Here is a quick overview of some of the specific requirements for wheelchair accessible sidewalks in Philadelphia, PA under the ADA: Width: The ADA has specific sidewalk width requirements to ensure they are capable of being used by people in wheelchairs. Compliant sidewalks are at least three feet wide. If less than five feet wide, there must be passing spaces created at certain intervals, measuring at least 60 inches on all sides. These passing zones should be placed every 200 feet. Texture: The texture of the sidewalk should be slip-resistant, stable and firm, which helps ensure people using mobility devices are more easily able to navigate the sidewalk without safety concerns. Any finishing done on standard concrete must be performed with these standards in mind. These standards are also in place for any grates that may be inset into the sidewalk. The openings in grates should be less than ½ inch across to ensure mobility devices do not get stuck in them. Ramps: Curb ramps are required any time a sidewalk crosses a curb, especially at street intersections. These curb ramps have specific slope requirements (less than 1:12) and must be at least 36 inches wide with a detectable warning device, such as raised dome surfaces and contrasting colors. You’ll often find many ADA compliant curb ramps are painted bright yellow to make them easily noticeable. If there is a marked crosswalk, the ramp should be entirely contained in the crosswalk. Slope: There are specific slope requirements for ADA sidewalks (less than 1:20). Otherwise, any sidewalk that exceeds this slope requirement will technically be classified as a ramp, which makes it subject to different ADA standards. Increases of more than ½ inch in elevation and exceeding the allowable slope for a sidewalk will require constructions of ramps or, in more severe circumstances, elevators or other types of compliant assistance facilities. There must always be alternatives to escalators and stairs. Obstructions: There may be obstructions in the sidewalk, such as utility poles, traffic signal devices, fire hydrants and various other types of infrastructure. An ADA compliant sidewalk must have at least 36 inches of space between the edge of the obstruction and the edge of the sidewalk. If the sidewalk cannot feasibly be constructed to comply with this standard, it is possible the obstruction will need to be relocated or removed entirely. These are just a few examples of some of the requirements municipalities must follow when designing new sidewalks or renovating old ones. For more information about ADA requirements for accessibility in public spaces, we encourage you to contact Philly Concrete & Asphalt Paving Inc. today. We’d be happy to tell you more about how we can help with wheelchair accessible sidewalks in Philadelphia, PA.

Potholes are an unfortunate reality across the northern portions of the United States. The freezing and thawing cycles that occur with the changing of the seasons can wreak havoc on roads and pavement, and potholes are just one example of the results that can occur. Potholes occur when ice and water from rain or melting snow move the soil underneath the surface of the concrete or asphalt. This results in less support for the paved surface. As vehicles repeatedly drive over that unsupported surface area, holes can result, and they’ll gradually grow wider and deeper over time. The water and ice often get down under the surface from cracks or holes in the concrete that were not patched up earlier. When potholes appear in roads, they pose a danger to drivers and vehicles that may run over them. There’s not much you can personally do about potholes in city streets other than taking a different route or trying to avoid them when you see them. But when the pothole is in your own driveway, you should make it a priority to fix it up so you can protect your car and the cars of anyone else who may visit your property. When a car hits a pothole, at the very least you risk damaging your tires, either hurting the sidewalls or the treads of the tires. Potholes can also damage the wheels, exhaust system or suspension, or if you have a low-riding vehicle, its body. The kind of damage that might occur to your vehicle really depends on the size of the pothole, the kind of vehicle you have and the speed and angle at which you hit the hole. The damage can, in some cases, end up being major. Here’s some information from our team about driveway pothole repair in Philadelphia, PA. Fixing a pothole in your driveway Fixing potholes in an asphalt driveway is relatively simple. You can purchase pre-mixed asphalt patching products. Remove debris from the hole, and then just pour the patch material into the hole, pushing it down to make it compact and even with the surrounding pavement. Add as much patching material as you need to make sure it completely fills in the hole, then add just a bit extra on top. You may need to wait a bit to put sealer on the new asphalt—the instructions on the material packaging should tell you how long that will take. If you have a dirt driveway you can remove the debris and fill it in with dirt instead of the asphalt patch material. The same is true with gravel driveways as well. In both cases, fill in the hole so it rises just above the surface of the driveway, then drive over the area to compact the material, adding more as necessary. It can help to add dirt or gravel to the center of the driveway when installing it so that water runs off to either side rather than accumulating in the middle. This will help prevent potholes from forming in the first place. For more information about driveway pothole repair in Philadelphia, PA, contact the team at Philly Concrete & Asphalt Paving Inc. today. Leave a Reply You must be logged in to post a comment.