OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) -- A woman who is suing St. Landry Parish over alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the parish courthouse is now also going after the City of Opelousas over the lack of curb ramps in the city.

Opelousas resident Annette Tyler, who has paraplegia due to a spinal cord injury and uses a wheelchair, said there are at least 12 intersections in downtown Opelousas that are inaccessible to her because of the city's existing curb cuts. Without access to those sidewalks, she is forced to wheel her wheelchair in the street, she said.

The Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, is a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. Under this law, state and local governments must provide an equal opportunity for people with disabilities to access their programs, services and activities.

Among other protections, this means state and local governments "must allow a person with a disability who uses a wheelchair or other manually powered mobility aid into all areas where members of the public are allowed to go," according to ADA.gov.

Tyler lodged her first suit under the ADA in August, saying the St. Landry Parish Courthouse has mobility-related barriers that prevent her from access to the services, programs and activities at the courthouse, such as participating in jury duty.

Tyler's attorney, Andrew D. Bizer of Bizer & DeReus law firm, said discussions with his client over mobility-related issues at the courthouse revealed other challenges in the city.

"When we talked about her issues at the courthouse, she talked about her issues outside of the courthouse, including the lack of curb ramps," Bizer said.

In the most recent lawsuit, Tyler identified 12 intersections that were not ADA complaint. She noted that list, however, is not an "exhaustive list" of inaccessible intersections that she has encountered in Opelousas.

Tyler also pointed to the master plan that the Opelousas Downtown Development District adopted in June 2021. She said that plan includes a list of recommendations that are identified as short term or long term.

Although one of the short-term recommendations is to "[c]onduct a sidewalk audit to understand where the greatest pedestrian accessibility needs exist," she said a public records request made earlier this year revealed that no action has been taken for a sidewalk audit or an ADA audit.

"[We] noticed that they were aware of the problem -- they kind of had a plan but the plan didn't go anywhere," Bizer said.

In the lawsuit, Tyler said she sent letters to the City of Opelousas and the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development that requested for reasonable accommodations or modifications be made to the sidewalks, but received no response.

The DOTD is also named as a defendant in the December lawsuit.

Bizer said it is important that advocates like Tyler are exercising their rights to enforce the federal civil rights law.

"This is about just basic access to city services, the most basic city services. And you know, the ADA was set up so private individuals who are impacted by architectural barriers have some sort of way to enforce the ADA," he said.

"Sometimes the Department of Justice gets involved, but we don't have, you know, a cavalcade of federal ADA inspectors running around with clipboards and tape measures on the taxpayers' dime to make sure that cities are in compliance," he continued.

"So it's private individuals, like Miss Tyler, [who] are tasked with filing civil litigation to enforce the ADA. And that's exactly what's she's doing."

Regarding the courthouse lawsuit, Bizer said some modifications are already underway but declined to provide further details on those modifications.

"The folks that I've spoken to have been very open and very receptive about making it right. They're not putting up a big fight like some other places do. So, kudos to them, with respect to the courthouse, at least so far," Bizer said. "... it seems like they want to do the right thing."

See the full lawsuit below:

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