When it comes to proper access for the disabled in Manteca, Brad Peters wants to see progress.

And the first step towards a resolution of what he considers major problems for those confined to wheelchairs – the lack of a sidewalk to provide proper access to the Social Security Administration building in Spreckels Park and shoddy maintenance on strips that pose safety hazards – could come this morning.

At 9 a.m. at the Manteca Senior Center Peters will join members of the Happy Wheelers and other concerned disabled residents for a workshop with a consultant hired by the City of Manteca to address the issues regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It might not necessarily be the swift solution that he was seeking when the situation first raised his ire, but Peters – who has also invited a representative from the National Highway and Transportation Administration to participate – is glad that things are moving forward.

“I would like to see a fruitful meeting where we can point out our concerns and move towards a solution,” Peters said. “The city is working with us, but they’re also moving forward with ongoing development around the city without first addressing existing problems that affect us as disabled individuals.

“That’s what I’m trying to get them to understand. They take these funds and manipulate them around – they have things that they want to get done – but we have problems around town that need to be taken care of.”

Last week Peters met with City Manager Karen McLaughlin to discuss the issues, and said that the meeting was fruitful but also generated some concern.

He’s hopeful that the project will be completed, but says that a timetable for completion would serve the disabled community more than an “expected” target – voicing concern over possible safety issues that could arise in the interim.

Several places in town, he says, have buckled sidewalks that aren’t easily visible and could throw somebody from their chair if struck at full speed. He’s championing the cause before the City Council for the better part of the last decade to get sections smoothed out and paths installed that allow for better access.

And like any concerned citizen, he made sure to apprise his congressman on the situation in a letter that he mailed out late last week.

“It was very lengthy, and I basically said that I don’t want to see federal dollars coming into my community for a project during the planning phase when it doesn’t include the basics like a sidewalk,” Peters said. “I’ve talked to Caltrans and I’ve talked to the Federal Highway Transportation Administration, and they both think that it’s absurd that something like this could happen.”

But funding and construction, according to the City of Manteca, is already coming down the pike.

City Manager Karen McLaughlin noted the council recently approved a capital improvement plan for this budget year that sets aside almost $65,000 to place sidewalk from the Social Security site to the intersection of Phoenix Drive and Commerce Avenue where sidewalk already exists.

She expects the project to move forward in the fall. The right-of-way was dedicated when Spreckels Park was approved. The city will put in the sidewalk using its share of Local Transportation Funds collected by the state. It will be reimbursed by the property owner when the vacant parcel develops.

McLaughlin noted Social Security did install sidewalk in front of their new offices.

“Their previous location (on South Main Street) was much easier for people to access,” McLaughlin said of the agency’s leased space.