Del Mar [0002]

City of Del Mar: Access problems in the public right-of-way
Del Mar is a small coastal town in north San Diego County. I have lived here since 1976, and the problems I experience in the public right of way as a wheelchair user and consultant/advocate for persons with disabilities are almost the same now as they were then, 30 years ago. The main ones are:
Sidewalks, Path of Travel, Path of Travel Blocked:All along Del Mar's main street, Camino del Mar, the sidewalks are interrupted by level changes, degraded surfaces, street furniture, and places where parking and driveways cross the sidewalks. In some places the sidewalk disappears entirely, forcing pedestrians in wheelchairs into the street. In other places, the "sidewalk" becomes a dirt path (in front of City Hall) that ends in a curb ramp to nowhere! So far the city's response to complaints has been to attempt to shift the responsibility of repair and maintenance to the merchants and businesses along the street. The city says they're doing fine, no one's complaining except me.
Curbcuts:Del Mar has installed some curb cuts. Unfortunately, some lead to non-existent or inaccessible sidewalks. Only the newest ones conform to standards.
Lack of H/C Parking:Parking is a hot topic in Del Mar, and so far the city has resisted all attempts to get them to add any H/C parking. Their response is that "Businesses don't like it because it takes up too much room and cuts down on the total number of spaces" and "The law doesn't require that we have on-street H/C parking". Currently I know of only two H/C spaces on the entire main street, plus one in front of the post office and one next to Seagrove Park. Do any of them conform for signage, size, level? No.
Bus stops:Most are inaccessible in Del Mar; they unload onto dirt. The ones that do have cement pads have benches located so that the bus can't deploy its ramp. Most of the bus stops have no place for wheelchairs or protection from the elements. Del Mar says it's North County Transit District's problem, not theirs. NCTD says it's Del Mar's problem.
All of my complaints over the years have basically fallen on deaf ears. I have learned that if it's not in writing, it never happened, but even my written complaints have been ignored.
Del Mar is not unique. I experience the same types of PROW problems in the nearby cities of Solana Beach, Cardiff, Encinitas (particularly bad) and Carlsbad, where I frequently visit. It's my understanding that all these cities use the same engineering firm as their advisor on accessibility for the disabled.
Dennis Sharp
A Sharp Design Consultants