City of Portland Curb Ramp Consent Decree

In 2018, Portland entered into a Consent Decree that committed its Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) to develop a public right-of-way transition plan within three years and begin significantly reducing the number of non-compliant corners as mandated by Federal accessibility laws.

The Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in July 1990 and affirmed by the Portland City Council in Resolution 34945 in February 1992. The City committed to making all programs, services, and activities provided by the City accessible to people with disabilities. The ADA requires state and local governments with more than 50 employees to maintain a transition plan to meet those goals. Resolution 35135, enacted in May 1993, approved the City’s first transition plan. Portland City government updated the plan several times over the years. However, the Civil Rights Education and Enforcement Center (CREEC), on behalf of three named Plaintiffs and a class of similarly situated individuals who require mobility assistive devices, challenged the City’s progress in constructing adequate curb ramps in the pedestrian right of way that comply with ADA standards.

In 2016, the PBOT Commissioner at the time, Steve Novick, entered into a negotiation agreement with Plaintiffs and attorneys for the Settlement Class to resolve the allegations and improve access to the City’s pedestrian right of way. On September 27th, 2018, the Portland City Council accepted CREEC’s Consent Decree requiring installing and maintaining accessible curb ramps. The City did not admit it had violated or failed to comply with its ADA responsibilities. Still, it settled with the plaintiffs and agreed to Injunctive Relief terms to address their concerns. Since then, PBOT has completed a survey of all City street corners with pedestrian walkways, noting ones missing ADA ramps or non-compliant ramps needing reconstruction. The survey also records details about the ramp’s design and geometry. In addition to ensuring all newly constructed ramps in the City adhere to ADA standards, the City will have a twelve-year-long “Annual Commitment” to address the backlog of non-compliant infrastructure. For 2018, the commitment required the City to construct or reconstruct 750 ramps. From 2019 through 2029, the quota is 1500 ramps, and in 2030, they need to install another 750 ramps by July 1st. If the City exceeds its “Annual Commitment,” it may bank up to 750 ramp commitments for use in another calendar year.

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