Curb cut

A curb cut (U.S.), curb ramp, dropped kerb (UK), pram ramp, or kerb ramp (Australia) is a solid (usually concrete) ramp graded down from the top surface of a sidewalk to the surface of an adjoining street. It is designed for pedestrian uses and commonly found in urban areas where pedestrian activity is expected. In comparison with a conventional curb (finished at a right angle 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) above the street surface) a curb cut is finished at an intermediate gradient that connects both surfaces, sometimes with tactile paving.

Historically speaking, footpaths were finished at right angles to the street surface with conventional curb treatments. Kalamazoo, Michigan installed curb cuts in the 1940s as a pilot project to aid employment of disabled veterans. A major project in Berkeley, California led by Ed Roberts and others at the Center for Independent Living led to curb cuts up and down Telegraph and Shattuck Avenues creating an extensive path of travel. Following this, the value of curb cuts was promoted more strongly and their installment was often made on a voluntary basis by municipal authorities and developers.

More recently, curb cuts in Western countries have been mandated by legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) in the United States, which requires that curb cuts be present on all sidewalks. This was followed by the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 in Australia. The legislative requirements have been increased from the original requirements in recent times, to the point where existing treatments can now fail to meet the most recent design requirements.

Supporters of the requirements point to curb cuts as an example of legislation that benefits every user of public spaces, even though the law was aimed at people with disabilities.

Curb cuts placed at street intersections allow someone in a wheelchair, on a toddler's tricycle etc., to move onto or off a sidewalk with less difficulty.

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