Bad Design Style: Case #35

Time for a good news-bad news situation. Good News: there’s a ramp with a low slope up to the curb. Bad News: the ramp is not installed or marked properly. Bonus Good News: this is potentially an easy fix.

The problem with this ramp is that it’s indistinguishable from the parking space it’s in. Someone could easily not see the ramp and park over it. If the person has a car that’s low to the ground, the bottom of the car could scrape and damage the ramp. It’s hard to tell from the angle but the slope of the ramp appears to alright. So assuming the ground is level, some painted markings would serve as a vehicle repellant.

Even though an asphalt ramp of short length could function, I’m not a big fan of them. They’re more likely to break down over time than concrete and you can’t make edge protection with asphalt. Plus they look kinda crappy. With concrete you can make a ramp that’s strong, durable, and with formed edge protection. Finally if possible, running a ramp parallel to the sidewalk looks and functions better.