| Mr. Lang submitted approximately 35 pages of additional information regarding
his concerns.
From his original letter, he lists four major areas where he believes that
either the public is at risk from unsafe walking surfaces, or where he believes
that the City erred in allowing specific sidewalk improvements. The four
examples are:
1. "The Bricks" in front of the Bowmer Theater on the Oregon Shakespeare
Festival campus.
2. The New Theater on the Oregon Shakespeare Festival campus.
3. The Community Development/Public Works Building at 51 Winburn Way.
4. The Sid and Karen DeBoer residence on Vista Street.
Staff Response
Item 1. - "The Bricks" are an area that was developed with the
construction of the Bowmer Theater in the 1970's. The area does not constitute
an area governed by the City's sidewalk standards. The area is also the
responsibility of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Any modifications to that
area are the responsibility of OSF. Liability for any injuries in this area
is also the responsibility of OSF. Given that these bricks have been in place
for approximately 30 years and are the responsibility of an entity other
than the City, we have not seen any reason to pursue changes to this surface.
No claims regarding injuries associated with this area have been file with
the City. Unless directed by the Council, Staff will not be pursuing any
changes to this surface. Mr. Lang may wish to contact OSF directly and express
his concerns regarding this issue.
Item 2. - The sidewalk area, within the right-of-way, in front of
the New Theater was required to be done to the standards of the City of Ashland,
with all work done under permit and approval of the Public Works Department.
Mr. Lang disputed if this was done, and informed the Planning Department
of his concerns in a letter dated January 28, 2002. Director McLaughlin responded
to Mr. Lang with the following letter:
"The sidewalk and street crossing work done on Pioneer Street in association
with the new OSF theater was done under permit of the Ashland Public Works
Department, and was deemed to be in conformance with the City's requirements.
The plaza area in front of the new theater is not located on city right-of-way
and is the responsibility of OSF. They have made the choice to use brick
pavers in this area. The new sidewalk located on the east side of Pioneer
is concrete. The adjoining sections of existing sidewalk were aggregate and
the new sidewalk was approved as aggregate for a continuous, compatible surface.
The new bump-out area on the west side of Pioneer is predominantly concrete
for the ADA tactile area, with a very limited new brick area. This was approved
as part of the permit process with Public Works. The remainder of the sidewalk
area on the west side is existing brick that was in place prior to the new
theater approval.
"We have found that the condition established for OSF regarding the new sidewalk
and crossing have been met and the Department of Community Development will
not be taking any further action regarding this issue."
Mr. Lang has taken exception to the staff decision to accept the improvements.
He has stated that an aggregate surface is not allowed. However, the City's
ordinance requires that sidewalks be constructed of concrete, but does not
specify the surface treatment. It is Public Works policy that they have a
broomed surface. However, if deemed appropriate, a different surface may
better fit the area. In this instance, existing sidewalks along Pioneer already
existed with an aggregate surface and it was determined that continuation
of that surface would be most appropriate for neighborhood compatibility.
The aggregate surface here is not illegal.
As part of the traffic calming improvements on Pioneer between the two theaters,
the bump out on the west side of the street does contain a small amount of
new bricks to maintain the compatibility with the existing brick plaza area.
These improvements were carefully reviewed at the time of installation by
both the Public Works Director and Planning Director and it was found that
the new improvements involving the bricks were not part of the general sidewalk
area and that the improvement did not pose a safety hazard.
Item 3 - The tile sections in the sidewalk areas in front of the Community
Development/Public Works Building were specified by the architect as part
of the original construction. We concur with Mr. Lang that the tiles are
breaking and the grout is loosened. A few weeks ago, a contract was signed
to sawcut the tile areas and replace them with scored concrete. This will
be done in the immediate future. Once completed, all areas in front of the
building will be improved with concrete.
Item 4 - Sid and Karen DeBoer installed a new sidewalk in front of
their properties along Vista Street when they were remodeling their home
and constructing a new home. They were not required to construct the sidewalk
as part of any planning action, but rather they desired to have a sidewalk
along their frontage. They were not aware that a permit was necessary for
a sidewalk improvement. They constructed the sidewalk out of concrete, in
accord with the ordinance, but utilized an aggregate surface rather than
a broomed concrete surface. Given that there were no other sidewalks in the
neighborhood to establish a pattern, it was determined that the aggregate
surface was allowable, meeting ADA requirements. A short section of bricks
set in concrete were installed where the walkway to the home intersects with
the sidewalk. Again, it was determined that this did not pose a problem and
was allowed to remain.
Should the Council find that either the aggregate or brick area inappropriate
for this area, the Council can direct Staff to contact the owners to remove
the improvements and replace it with broomed surface concrete. |
