Unintended Consequence: Sidewalk Dots

The Mercury News' Roadshow column hit upon something that I have been wondering about since the beginning of the Dot Era:

Q A friend fell on the yellow bumps on the sidewalk at Safeway and broke her leg in four places. She had no insurance and was in the hospital for three days. 

A These truncated domes at curb cuts are designed to meet requirements by the Americans With Disabilities Act and are meant to inform blind pedestrians that they are stepping into traffic. But lawyers have had a field day with these. They've filed so many lawsuits that cities and corporations are going way overboard to insulate themselves from lawsuits. How so? Some make it difficult for people using walkers, canes and crutches to easily cross these dotted surfaces. Places like Costco and Target often run them the entire length of an entrance. Critics say they are also a huge headache for non-disabled folks.

I'm not sure how a city goes way overboard to insulate itself from lawsuits.  It certainly doesn't work in other instances like this one!  These things are all over the place and seem to get bigger with each new installation.  This one is on Primrose.

 

Comments

[Jennifer]

Seriously?--Who is going to save us from ourselves?!?

[Joe]

Jen, you are just baiting Alex Kent, right? :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Bruce Dickinson]

BAM!!

Liking the Rottweiler, Joe!

Happy Thanksgiving all!

-Bruce Dickinson

[Peter Garrison]

Take a picture of the one ramp on the tiny triangle of woodchips that is across the train station to the east and next to the tennis courts.

A ramp to assist a wheelchair to nowhere...

[hillsider]

These dots have been stupid since day 1. I bet it will cost a fortune to pull them all out soon. And you cannot send the bill to Sacramento.

[HMB]

And some of them aren't even installed properly and are lifting at the corners -- truly hazardous!

[Samiselfie]

I've lhad quite a few eggs crack getting off the Safeway rooftop elevator on Howard. Those dots are right near the exit elevator.

[resident]

Yes!! The dots rattle the whole shopping cart and anything on the bottom that is usually heavy and sometimes glass falls out if you are not paying attention. Very stupid. The other question is do they really help anyone who is blind?

[Laura]

The installation of these truncated domes has been dangerous and has opened property owners and cities up to lawsuits due to the corners pulling up and people tripping and falling. They are now required to be embedded in the concrete or asphalt to avoid this issue but it's typical of government to not research something they mandate property owners to install. It may help those that are blind, don't know that for a fact, but it stalls those in wheelchairs. It's costing thousands of dollars to go back and reinstall these domes and no, the government that mandated and wrote the specs for installation of these domes, will not help pay for the cost to tear out and reinstall. The government lovs spending other people's money..

[debate leads to the betterment of society]

Joe, were you drinking a fine scotch when you wrote your comment? (At least I give you credit for it being fine...)

I appears that Jennifer's comment actually referred to overregulation creating more problems than they solved.

And, when only a small fraction of society votes, let alone become knowledgeable on community or national issues, then it's ignorance and bias that I enjoy enlightening here. And, those with ignorance don't typically know or admit it, and those with bias won't typically listen to others.

And, the solution to problems like the yellow dots is at the heart of all of my points on The BV, free speech and open debate of issues helps society to evolve towards a better place. And, those that try to silence those that have different perspectives (like Bruce), are negative forces in society.

And, if other people's real names aren't being used, then I'd request that my real name not be used here.

[Joe]

I am guilty of a little gentle ribbing, debate. Sometimes some of the enlightenment can get a little broad-based compared to the issues at hand. The general thrust is correct, though (so at least I will give you credit for that).

[Thomas Hornblower]

A little over a month ago, a friend's 72 year old father tripped/slipped on these truncated domes at a railway station in Japan where he lives. He is now paralyzed from the neck down. I've experienced they are slippery as hell when wet.