NLV on track for meeting ADA rules

Monday, May 1, 2006 | 7:25 a.m.

Seven months after North Las Vegas reached a tentative agreement with the Justice Department over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the city is putting its money where its mouth is.

North Las Vegas plans to award a contract Wednesday to spend nearly $350,000 for wheelchair-accessible ramps, sidewalks and other safety improvements for the disabled at more than 133 locations around schools and older sections of the city.

The contract is part of the city's plan to spend more than $600,000 this year and similar amounts during its next two budgets to comply with the 1990 federal law requiring local governments to improve the disabled's access to government programs and access on government property.

In September, North Las Vegas reached an agreement with the Justice Department over the city's long-standing violations of the federal law. The agreement helped the city avoid potential fines of up to $55,000 for a first violation and $110,000 for subsequent violations.

"We are well on our way to compliance," said City Manager Gregory Rose. "Beyond that, it is the right thing to do. We want to ensure all of our citizens, regardless whether they have a handicap, have access."

Justice Department spokesman Eric Holland said North Las Vegas is on schedule to correct the violations. City officials said North Las Vegas already has spent thousands of dollars to fix dozens of violations.

North Las Vegas came under fire from the Justice Department after a January 2004 federal review of 75 percent of the city's parks and facilities found 182 ADA violations.

The violations included the absence of accessible drinking fountains, a need for restroom improvements and a need to alter sidewalks where street lights or signage hindered the mobility of wheelchair users.

Under the ADA, since 1992, when streets are constructed or resurfaced, cities have been required to reconfigure sidewalks and curbs to accommodate wheelchairs.

Rose said the $2 million that the city has budgeted for the improvements is the minimum amount needed to meet ADA requirements, but the city plans to surpass that amount.

"The improvements are way overdue," said North Las Vegas Councilman William Robinson. "We are taking a proactive role to meet their mandate."

A year ago two hearing-impaired people sued in federal court, saying North Las Vegas violated their civil rights. They said police failed to provide a sign language interpreter or to communicate in writing following their arrests on two unrelated traffic cases in 2003 and 2004.

Since the lawsuit was filed, the city moved to comply with a Justice Department request by hiring sign language interpreters.