Rob Robertson didn't want any money from his lawsuit, he just wanted to be able to go downtown and shop.

John Beale, Post-Gazette Rob Robertson tries to get his wheelchair over a curb at Hamilton Street and Versailles Avenue in McKeesport, which is ramped to be accessible. Still there is a drop of several inches between the curb and the street. Even with the curb cut, Robertson is unable to get from the street onto the sidewalk.<</font> Click photo for larger image. Related article Bonds to pay for streets, sidewalks, demolition in McKeesport

Margaret Stokes' goal was to get to her daughter's house without risking her life.

They both live in the McKeesport Elderly Housing Corp.'s apartment building on Versailles Avenue and were so frustrated by their inability to navigate the city's sidewalks that they filed a federal lawsuit against McKeesport. The city has reached an agreement with them to install 1,000 curb cuts throughout the city over the next five years.

For Robertson and Stokes, just the simple act of traveling along a city street in McKeesport has been a struggle. They both used motorized wheelchairs and have been harassed and put into harm's way when, unable to make it up inadequate or altogether missing handicapped ramps, they have been forced to travel in the street.

"You get some jerks that like to come so close that you can feel the wind from their cars," said Robertson, 38, who is in a wheelchair because of injuries from an accident.

"They just want us out of the road and I've got news for them: We don't want to be there."

Robertson has had trash thrown at him and is regularly yelled at by passing motorists.

Stokes, 64, who lives upstairs from Robertson and uses a wheelchair because of arthritis,was the victim of a hit and run three years ago. She was uninjured when the car struck her wheelchair, but the chair was damaged so badly she was unable to move.

Even when McKeesport has resurfaced streets throughout the city, ramps to the sidewalks were either not installed or installed incorrectly, so they were unusable. Some are too narrow for a wheelchair. Others have a 3-inch drop from the sidewalk to the street, making them impassable for people who use wheelchairs.

Robertson got so frustrated with the situation, he and Stokes became co-plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against McKeesport in U.S. District Court on Feb. 11, 2004.

The new administration, which took office a month before the suit was filed, has agreed to settle the case by building 1,000 ramps over the next five years.

The settlement will not pay any money to Robertson or Stokes. They were not seeking compensation.

The agreement, which has been signed by the city but not filed with U.S. District Court, calls for the city to spend $1 million over the next five years installing 1,000 curb cuts.

The first set will create two routes, one from Robertson and Stokes' home on Versailles Avenue to downtown.

The other one runs from their building past Stokes' daughter's house on Union Street so that Stokes can visit her grandchildren and great-grandson.

Mayor Jim Brewster agrees the situation is terrible for people who need the handicapped ramps. He said, for years, outside contractors had been installing inadequate curb cuts.

"People who don't need the ramps don't understand [the need for] them," he said.

It was the moment someone spit on him from a passing car that Robertson decided something had to change.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed in 1990 and mandated that public facilities be accessible to people with physical limitations. But during the ensuing years, McKeesport did not provide the ramps at intersections which allow people in wheelchairs to use the sidewalks.

Robertson works as a housing counselor for the Three Rivers Center for Independent Living in Wilkinsburg.

During the years he has worked there, he has learned his rights as a disabled person.

Robertson contacted a friend at the Disability Law Project who started writing letters to the city but received no response.

They decided to catch the city's attention by filing a lawsuit.

McKeesport Solicitor Jason Elash said when he moved into his office in January 2004, there wasn't even a file of letters on the curb ramps.

"We never really defended the lawsuit because we were wrong," Elash said.

By the end of the year, Robertson, who was paralyzed from the armpits down in a traffic accident when he was 24, will be able to wander downtown on a nice day to go to the bank and grocery store like anyone in McKeesport who can walk.

And Stokes will be able to safely travel the few blocks to hold her great-grandson and then, maybe, head over to the Olympia Shopping Center to look for a few things.

"We don't want money," Stokes said of the lawsuit. "We just want places we can go."