Baltimore City will spend at least $44 million to bring aging sidewalks, curb ramps and other pedestrian infrastructure into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The investment, announced Thursday by Mayor Brandon M. Scott, is part of a settlement agreement with a group of city residents who sued in 2021, alleging “widespread and ongoing” violations of the federal accessibility requirements.

The deal puts the city under a partial consent decree for the next four years, during which time leaders have pledged to invest in infrastructure improvements to the tune of $8 million to $15 million per year.

According to an outline of the agreement shared with the Board of Estimates, Baltimore will spend between $8 million and $10 million on pedestrian upgrades in fiscal 2025, $12 million to $12.5 million in fiscal 2026 and 2027, and $12 million to $15 million in fiscal 2028. The consent decree will be up for renegotiation in 2028.

Under the settlement, the city will also name an ADA coordinator dedicated to maintaining pedestrian rights of way; implement a pedestrian inspection program to monitor accessibility on a 10-year basis; and launch a maintenance program to make sure trash and vegetation are cleared from pedestrian areas annually.

Gabriel Rubinstein, an attorney with Disability Rights Maryland who is representing the three residents and one organization, Independent Marylanders Achieving Growth Inc., who sued, said Thursday morning his clients are “excited” about the settlement.

“This agreement puts in place the programs to ensure that Baltimore finally lives up to the promises of the Americans with Disabilities Act, so that people with mobility disabilities can navigate around the City of Baltimore just as safely and to the same extent as everyone else, to participate fully in community life,” he wrote in an email.

In a statement, Scott said the settlement is “the largest move in this city’s history to make our sidewalks accessible to everyone” and offers a path for addressing a “deeply entrenched problem.”

“As is the case in many historic East Coast cities, the challenge posed by our city’s sidewalks and curbs long predates the Americans with Disabilities Act and adequately changing our infrastructure poses a monumental task,” Scott said. “However, under my administration, we are committed to taking every action necessary to set the city on track to come into compliance with the ADA, and ensure Baltimore is more accessible to our disabled community than ever before.”

Before it takes effect, the settlement will need approval from the Board of Estimates, which will consider the agreement at its next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 20.

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