I honestly don’t recommend your next bicycle ride focus on presence or non-presence of Americans with Disabilities Act Title II Regulations (ADA-compliant) curb ramps. Even moving slowly there’s so many to see/not see and one does need to keep eyes out on other things in order to stay alive.

That huge disclaimer in place, paying at least a tiny bit of attention to where such ramps are and aren’t offers revealing insight into what City o’ ABQ and BernCo do and don’t do when it comes to providing required ramps at every end of block/intersection. First, it must be noted that such ramps generally exist more often than not. Second, it must also be noted that “more often than not” isn’t good enough to be legal when it comes to a great many things, including ADA compliance.

My ride last Friday took me up Trumbull toward the just-about-to-start Louisiana project between Central and Gibson. Along the way, I spotted a great number of curb ramps as I smoothly sailed on the newly repaved road surface from San Mateo toward San Pedro.

Then I got to the San Pedro Library at the corner of Trumbull and San Pedro:

We’re looking here east toward the library, top-right, with its parking lot extending to this very nice shade tree (mulberry?) and a curb with no ramp. That’s an ADA violation and it’s on a parcel owned by the City of Albuquerque.

Given the complex and generally unenforced requirements on homeowners when it comes to sidewalk in front of their properties, your humble blogger is going to focus entirely on ADA violations upon publicly-owned parcels, such as this. I’m just getting up to speed on how to submit an ADA complaint myself, and this corner of Trumbull at Cagua will be my first official go-round in that rodeo.

Another observation from my ride last Friday concerns the many, many alleys criss-crossing through much of the older parts of town. Who’s responsible for maintaining these alleys? That’s always been a bit of an evaded question, but unquestionably the City, in this case, is responsible for alleys as they cross City streets, such as Silver SE here just west of Michael Thomas Coffee.

Yes, that’s an ADA violation along a City street. As for the alleys themselves, and as you may have already guessed, some looks/clicks through the BernCo parcel map result in quickly understanding that apparently NOBODY owns these alleys. Perhaps the alleys should unite and incorporate themselves into a criss-cross of lawless dens of iniquity.

Yes, I realize that to some extent this has already happened.

Digression aside, one reason I happened to glance at the alley/sidewalk above was that a person was pushing a stroller up this sidewalk until they got to this alley. Not a good look, City. Fix the sidewalk.

So there’s a recap of my first bike ride foray paying as much attention as I could to curb ramps without getting killed. Again, I am not suggesting you try this at home, and no, I’m not joking about it in the same way certain folks are “not” suggesting people ship their used kitty litter to vice-presidential candidate Vance’s home. All that said, it was an interesting ride and will personally be followed by others at a very slow, watchful pace.