Shelton adopts ADA transition plan; staff estimate $29 million in curb, sidewalk upgrades

Shelton City Council on Sept. 16 adopted a citywide Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan that inventories accessible‑route problems across public rights of way and lays out a multi‑year schedule to fix them. Public Works Director Aaron Hicks told the council the study identifies “about $29,000,000 worth of improvements that need to happen.”

The plan is intended to document current barriers—sidewalk ramps, curb cuts, pedestrian push‑buttons and related items—and show a funded approach to reduce them so the city can qualify for transportation grants and demonstrate progress toward compliance. Hicks told council members the city expects to allocate roughly $100,000 per year to start addressing the list and will use a field app to track repairs and update the inventory as work is completed.

The plan, produced for the city by Transco Group 8, was presented during a prior study session and described in council comments as a “good faith” compliance effort. Council members noted the estimate is large and said many fixes will need to be paired with other street and paving projects to stretch limited resources. One councilor said the plan provides an aspirational target after the city and local advocacy groups marked the ADA’s 35th anniversary earlier this year.

Formally, the council adopted Resolution No. 1397‑0725 to approve the July 2025 ADA transition plan; the motion to adopt passed on a voice vote. The adoption does not commit funding beyond the annual budgeting process; staff said the city will seek grant funding and bundle fixes into other paving and capital projects where feasible.

Discussion vs. decision: council discussion focused on cost, funding approaches and using combined projects to reduce incremental expense. Direction given to staff included tracking and reporting fixes via the field app and pursuing grant opportunities; the only formal action taken on Sept. 16 was adoption of the resolution approving the plan.

The city said the work will be phased over many years given cost and staffing limits; no timeline for completion of the full list was adopted.