Accessible Public Rights-of-Way

 
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS AND RESOURCES

Here are links to resources for developing and updating ADA Transition Plans and, more generally, for planning and designing accessible public rights of way.

Primary Source Materials

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended

http://www.access-board.gov/enforcement/Rehab-Act-text/intro.htm

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which applies non-discrimination requirements to federal programs and activities, including transportation programs, is included in Title V of this act.

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as Amended

http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm. 

The ADA is a broad civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability, defined as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity."  The law's original intent was to create permanent legal protections for people with disabilities and to keep Americans with disabilities in the mainstream of society and public life.

Agency Materials and Information

U.S. Access Board Home Page

http://www.access-board.gov/

The Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities.  The Access Board develops and maintains design criteria for the built environment, as well as for transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and electronic and information technology.  The Board is structured to function as a coordinating body among Federal agencies and to directly represent the public, particularly people with disabilities.

The Access Board has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking for the 2011 Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) at http://www.access-board.gov/prowac/index.htm.  This link includes the most recent guidelines for public rights-of-way accessibility, as well as supporting documentation for the rulemaking, related design guidance, and research.

The Access Board has released draft final guidelines for outdoor developed areas, including access to trails, beaches, picnic areas, and camping areas.  See http://www.access-board.gov/outdoor/index.htm.

The Access Board has released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for shared use paths.  The notice is posted at http://www.access-board.gov/sup.htm. 

The Access Board has also published a "Special Report: Accessible Public Rights-of-Way Planning and Design for Alterations," (August 2007), posted at http://www.access-board.gov/prowac/alterations/guide.pdf (PDF) http://www.access-board.gov/prowac/alterations/guide.htm (HTML).

This report and its recommendations are the work of a subcommittee of the Public Rights-of-Way Access Advisory Committee (PROWAAC) and are intended to provide technical assistance only; CMAP staff recommends the design guidance as useful.

U.S. Department of Justice, ADA Home Page

http://www.ada.gov/

The Department of Justice enforces substantial elements of the laws and regulations related to disability, provides technical assistance, and has promulgated standards related to many aspects of accessible design (except for transportation vehicles and transportation facilities, among others).

The Department of Justice has posted its 2010 ADA Title II Regulations at http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/titleII_2010/titleII_2010_regulations.htm.  Subpart D, § 35.150 (program accessibility, existing facilities) includes the regulations requiring transition plans.

The Department of Justice has posted its 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design at http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm.  These include standards for paths of travel (accessible routes).

The Department of Justice has posted technical assistance documents and resources for state and local governments at http://www.ada.gov/publicat.htm#Anchor-14210. These resources include the "ADA Guide for Small Towns," "The ADA and City Governments: Common Problems," and "Commonly Asked Questions about Title II of the ADA."

Federal Highway Administration, Office of Civil Rights

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/programs/ada.htm. 

This office ensures that people with disabilities have the opportunity to use the transportation system in an accessible and safe manner.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has adopted ADA Standards for Transportation Facilities.  They are available at http://www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/ada-standards-dot.cfm .

These standards apply to the construction and alteration of transportation facilities covered by the ADA.  They became effective November 29, 2006.  USDOT adopted these standards based on updated 2004 guidelines issued by the Access Board.  The standards are consistent with the Board's guidelines except for provisions DOT modified concerning:

• accessible routes (206.3)
• detectable warnings on curb ramps (406.8)
• bus boarding areas (810.2.2), and
• rail station platforms (810.5.3).

FHWA has posted a library of materials related to accessibility at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/accessibility/

FHWA has posted a series of questions and answers at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/programs/ada_sect504qa.htm.   This document includes a section on transition plans.

FHWA has published "Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access: Part II of II: Best Practices Design Guide."  http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sidewalk2/index.htm.  This document includes stroll sheets, intersection checklists, curb ramp analysis, driveway crossing analysis, cut-through median analysis, and ramped median analysis forms used for field assessment of sidewalk conditions and ADA compliance., posted athttp://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sidewalk2/sidewalks2aa.htm. 

A 2006 memorandum clarifies FHWA's role in accessibility :

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/memos/ada_memo_clarificationa.htm.

Another 2006 memorandum clarifies FHWA policy related to truncated domes:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/dwm.htm

Federal Transit Administration, Office of Civil Rights

http://fta.dot.gov/civil_rights.html

The FTA Office of Civil Rights is responsible for civil rights compliance and monitoring to ensure nondiscriminatory provision of transit services.

The FTA has amended DOT ADA regulations related to intercity, commuter, and high-speed passenger railroads.  These 2011 amendments are available at: http://fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12325.html.

Other Major Reference Materials

ADA Transition Plans: A Guide to Best Management Practices, Jacobs Engineering Group, NCHRP Project Number 20-7 (232), May 2009.

http://www.transportation.org/sites/design/docs/ADA%20Transition%20Plans%20Report,%20May%202009.doc

From the guide: "The purpose of this guidance document is to ensure that good ideas, helpful information, and successful practices concerning the development and updating of Transition Plans are recognized, recorded, and shared among Departments of Transportation."  The guide is organized into two main sections: Steps to Compliance and Findings and Best Practices of State DOTs.  An attachment to the report lists contact information for ADA coordinators by state.

ADA Compliance at Transportation Agencies: A Review of Practices, Cesar Quiroga, Shawn Turner, Texas Transportation Institute, September 2008.

http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/archive/NotesDocs/20-07%28249%29_FR.pdf

The stated purpose of this report was "to gather information and develop a synthesis of practices, including best practices, on the various approaches transportation agencies use to address ADA compliance issues."  Chapter 2 includes a section entitled "Design Guides and Other Relevant Documentation," which contains a list of documentation, including training materials, produced by the U.S. Access Board, U.S. Department of Justice, FHWA, state DOTs, cities, counties, metropolitan planning organizations and universities.  Also included are sample guides and checklists produced by FHWA and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Accessible Pedestrian Signals.  Synthesis and Guide to Best Practice.  Source: Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, 2003. 

Accessible Sidewalks Videos.  Series of Four Videos Exploring Issues for Pedestrians Who Use Wheelchairs or Are Mobility-Impaired, Low-Vision, or Blind.  U.S. Access Board, 2008.
 

Accessible Public Rights-of-Way

Status of Transition Plans Required under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Metropolitan Chicago, 2002-2010.

In 2002, 60 municipalities in the region responded that they had an "adopted transition plan to comply with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act."  As of 2010, 54 municipalities responded that the "had an approved plan to improve or maintain accessibility in the public right-of-way for people with disabilities," during the 2010 CMAP Municipal Plans, Programs, and Operations Survey.  While not exactly addressing the same question as in 2002, the 2010 survey indicates that the Chicago region still needs to make progress in planning for accessibility.  

ADA transition plans are a legal requirement for local governments with more than 50 employees.  Transition plans provide some legal protection for a community's effort to improve accessibility.  More importantly, adopting and implementing a transition plan will facilitate steady progress toward improving accessibility, an important aspect of livability for all people with disabilities, and often necessary for employment and services.  

Many communities adopted a Transition Plan following the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the plans may not be up-to-date, as the law requires.  One example of an area that may need to be updated are accessible routes between bus stops and local businesses or housing complexes.  Pace Suburban Bus Service has worked with many communities to establish bus stops, but the accessible routes for these stops may not have been established yet.

A transition plan should consist of the following elements:

• A self-evaluation, consisting of a list of physical barriers in the municipality's facilities that limit accessibility of people with disabilities, 
• A detailed description of the methods to remove the barriers and make the facilities accessible,
• A schedule for the necessary steps,
• The name of the official responsible for implementation,
• A schedule for providing curb ramps, and
• A record of the opportunities for the disabled communities and other interested parties to participate in the development of the plan.

Communities with more than 50 employees should adopt or regularly maintain their ADA transition plan.  CMAP is preparing a brief guide to transition plans for communities.  The guide is expected to be available in fiscal year 2012.

Following is a table of the status of ADA plans, addressing the questions above, for 2002 and 2010.

ADA Accessibility Plan Status, 2002-2010, Chicago Region

Area	Has Plan		Does Not Have Plan		Under Development		No Answer or Unknown
	2002	2010	2002	2010	2002	2010	2002	2010
Cook County	32	25	10	48	5	8	67	33
Collar Counties	28	29	27	70	8	16	87	35
Total	60	54	37	118	13	24	154	68

Notes:  The response rate for 2010 was 74% (211 responses).  The response rate for 2002 was 68% (186 responses) Non-respondents were included in "no answer or unknown" for each survey.  The 2002 survey offered a specific option for "unknown," explaining the larger number of "unknown" responses that year.  In addition, the 2010 survey was designed to be coordinated among various departments, while the 2002 survey was generally directed to the municipal engineer or public works official.

  

Legal Issues under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act: Transition Planning and Pedestrian Accommodation in Existing Facilities

At the 2005 Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) conference in Chicago, a workshop session examined some of the legal issues regarding Transition Plans as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, along with various design and planning issues related to pedestrian accommodations in existing facilities. The session titled, "Legal Issues under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act" brought together four speakers to address these issues. Speakers included Lisa MacPhee, Attorney Advisor for the Federal Highway Administration; Matt Zoll, AICP, Bicycle and Pedestrian Program Manager for the Pima County (AZ) Department of Transportation; Gail Payne, AICP, a senior transportation consultant with Moore Iacofano Goltsman, Inc.; and Lois Thibault, Coordinator of Research for the U.S. Access Board.

The 3+ hour session began covered many issues regarding planning and programming projects to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Topics covered included transition plans, public right-of-way accessibility standards, programming, applicability to construction projects, and other topics. 

At the end of 2006, following the meeting, additional federal guidance has become available.  Key points:

• Planning: Title 23 requires that long-range transportation plans and transportation improvement programs, in both statewide and metropolitan planning processes, provide for the development and integrated management and operation of accessible transportation systems and facilities.
  
  Additionally, State DOTs and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) must certify (at least biennially for State DOTs and annually for MPOs) that the transportation planning process is being carried out or conducted in accordance with all FHWA, Federal Transit Administration and other applicable Federal statutory and regulatory requirements [see 23 CFR 450.220 and 23 CFR 450.334, respectively]. Further, 23 CFR 450.316(b)(3) requires the metropolitan planning process to identify actions necessary to comply with the ADA and Section 504.
   
• Transition Plans: The ADA and Section 504 require State and local governments with 50 or more employees to perform a self-evaluation of their current services, policies, and practices that do not or may not meet ADA requirements. The public agency must develop a Transition Plan addressing these deficiencies. This plan assesses the needs of persons with disabilities, and then schedules the required pedestrian accessibility upgrades. The Transition Plan is to be updated periodically, with its needs reflected in the processes utilized by State DOTs, MPOs, and transit agencies to develop the Statewide Transportation Improvement Programs and metropolitan Transportation Improvement Programs. 

For more information, read the complete FHWA memorandum.