BURBANK : Wheelchair-Access Bids to Be Accepted

A program to allow wheelchair access to several Burbank schools and the public library should be completed this year, according to officials of a group advocating the rights of the disabled.

The $50,000 program, made up of federal grants, will fund the installation of 125 curb cuts, which allow wheelchair access from the surface of the street to the sidewalk. Bids for the project will be accepted in the next few weeks. The project will take about 2 1/2 months to complete.

“We feel the education of our youth is extremely important,” said Richard L. Garris, president of the Burbank Advisory Council on Disabilities. “And if they cannot get into school we have serious problems.”

Curb cuts will also be installed on sidewalks around the George Izay and Verdugo parks as well as the Burbank Public Library on Buena Vista Street, Garris said.

The work is part of $220,000 in federal grant money that Burbank received this year to meet the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which calls for public buildings and businesses to be made accessible to the handicapped. Other needed improvements include renovating the first floor restrooms in City Hall and installing handicapped-accessible pay phones and water fountains, Garris said.

Garris said that $30,000 of Burbank’s grant money which had been earmarked for renovating the restrooms at the city-owned Castaway restaurant has been diverted into other handicapped-accessibility projects after a fire destroyed much of the landmark restaurant.

Last year, the group focused on getting curb cuts for shopping areas and other public buildings. All public areas in Burbank could be free of barriers to the disabled within five years, Garris said.