Wednesday, April 9, 2025–7:10 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
A discussion regarding a non-compliant handicapped ramp in front of a Broad Street business evolved into a wider discussion regarding accessibility in downtown Rome during Wednesday’s Rome Public Works, Traffic, Transit and Trails Committee meeting.
According to Rome Public Works Director Chris Jenkins, the ramp in front of 424 Broad Street was installed on the city’s right of way shortly after the first of the year, and it has a number of issues, most notably with the required length and width.
“It’s not ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliant,” he said. “
Jenkins, who added there are also some trip hazards, told the committee that the city’s insurance will not cover the ramp as it is right now, so it will have to be removed.
“As you know, we’ve had people in our community who have tripped and fallen, and they have lost their life,” he said. “If something is deemed unsafe, eventually, at some point in time, an accident will happen. So, we need to make sure we are doing the safe thing for the city as well as for the business owners. It needs to be built into the building and not on the city’s right of way.”
Liz Kieler, owner of Olea Olive Oils and Wine, told the committee that she paid for the ramp to be installed because she wanted to do what was right for the community.
“This probably the easiest ramp to get into businesses on Broad Street that I have ever gone on,” said customer Cynthia Lockhart-Sanders. “I had absolutely zero problems going into the business, and I was happy that they put the ramp there because I was never able to get in there. There are modifications that need to be done to it, but they stopped during the transition because they got a citation, and they were never able to finish it.”
To build the ramp into the building would mean a major renovation that could cost into the thousands of dollars.
Since many of the buildings downtown date back to the 1800s, and the streetscape project on Broad Street was done before the Americans with Disabilities Act, this is not the first time a business has had to deal with this issue.
According to Jenkins, he has had a brief discussion with Rome City Manager Sammy Rich about coming up with a way to provide grants through the Downtown Development Authority that would help businesses pay for ramps going into their facilities.
“Going forward, we have discussed potentially adding this as one of our grants for next year,” said Kelley Ledford, assistant to the city manager. “As you may or may not know, our BID [Business Improvement District] sunsets this year, and depending on whether it passes at the end of the year, and we have BID money for next year, it’s something that we could add.”
The Rome BID is an assessment that enables local property and business owners to finance services and improvements beyond those already provided by the City of Rome, including façade and sign grants.
Ledford added that there may also be some federal tax credits that could be used, and there may be individuals or charitable organizations that would be willing to help.
“I feel like from all of the options we’ve seen, we can find a way to make this happen,” said committee chair Randy Quick.