A Hales Corners family whose son uses a wheelchair is getting a permanent paved path to the road after the village previously said the family would have to pay for it themselves.
Before construction on Luther Avenue, Nick Ness used a wooden wheelchair ramp to get out of his home, onto the neighborhood sidewalk, and then down to the road. But after residents petitioned to have the sidewalks removed as part of the road reconstruction project, the Ness family was left without a permanent paved path from Nick’s ramp to the road.
“In our younger days, we were able to push Nick through the grass and get through rocky things, but we aren’t young anymore,” Roseann Ness, Nick’s mother, said.
A temporary gravel path was put in place, but then-village administrator Sandy Kulik told TMJ4 on Aug. 24, 2026 that a permanent path would be considered a private improvement and public funds could not be used to pay for it. She said the Ness family would be responsible for the cost…