36 CFR Part 1190, Proposed Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)

Current Guidelines Developed Primarily for Buildings and Facilities on Sites

The Access Board’s current accessibility guidelines were issued in 2004 and are known as the Americans with Disabilities Act and Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Guidelines (hereinafter referred to as “2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines”).¹¹  69 FR 44083 (July 23, 2004). The 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines revised and updated the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, which were issued by the Access Board in 1991 (hereinafter referred to as “1991 ADAAG”). 56 FR 35408 (July 26, 1991). The requirements in the 1991 ADAAG and 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines were developed primarily for buildings and facilities on sites.¹² Some of the requirements can be readily applied to pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way. However, other requirements need to be adapted for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way.

¹¹The 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines are codified in 36 CFR part 1191 and consist of six appendices:

· Appendix A is the Table of Contents to the guidelines;

· Appendix B contains ADA Chapters 1 and 2, which include application and scoping requirements for the design, construction, and alteration of facilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act;

· Appendix C contains ABA Chapters 1 and 2, which include application and scoping requirements for the design, construction, and alteration of facilities covered by the Architectural Barriers Act;

· Appendix D contains Chapters 3 through 10, which include common technical requirements for the design, construction, and alteration of facilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Architectural Barriers Act;

· Appendix E contains the index of terms and list of figures included in the guidelines; and

· Appendix F contains additions and modifications to the guidelines issued by the Department of Transportation.

The DOJ 2010 Standards and the Department of Transportation standards for transportation facilities used in the provision of transportation services covered by the transportation parts of Title II of the ADA and facilities covered by Section 504 adopt Appendices B and D, with additions and modifications. The General Services Administration standards for facilities covered by the Architectural Barriers Act adopt Appendices C and D, without additions and modifications.

¹²The term “site” is defined in the 1991 ADAAG (see 3.5) and 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines (see 106.5 and F106.5) as a “parcel of land bounded by a property line or a designated portion of a public right-of-way.”