The Borough of Coplay should now be fully compliant with a federal mandate requiring handicap curbs at every intersection in the borough.

The depressed curb cuts make it accessible for wheelchair-bound people who utilize battery-operated chairs or those who need canes to move freely throughout the town.

From Hokendauqua Street to the borough parkway on North Second Street and Chestnut Street to the Coplay-Northampton Bridge to Ruch Street, the project will require private contractors to remove the existing block of sidewalk and curb and construct a new depressed concrete walk.

The Americans With Disabilities Act requires all municipalities to construct curbs that are ADA compliant.

Borough Secretary Sandra Gyecsek said there were 567 handicap curbs installed throughout the borough, which began installing the ADA walks and curbing in the early 1990s. Councilman Ronald Oakes at that time had the work accelerated by applying to Lehigh County for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

The county approved the borough's application to move forward with the project. Borough officials used CDBG funding for ADA-compliant bathrooms at the parkway. The borough also used its own funds in an earlier year for various projects.

Now that the ADA curb project is completed, the borough has requested $40,000 in CDBG money for 2014. Gyecsek said the proposal is for much needed work at the Saylor field building that is part of the 11.5-acre parkway. However, the funding was denied. Borough officials were told the project would far exceed the grant funding requested.