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

Table 3. Proposed Guidelines Contain Requirements Not in DOJ 2010 Standards

Table 3 analyzes requirements in the proposed guidelines for which there are no corresponding requirements in the DOJ 2010 Standards.²⁶  The requirements in the proposed guidelines in Table 3 are compared to other applicable accessibility standards and the 2009 edition of Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD). Where the requirements in the proposed guidelines in Table 3 are the same as the requirements in other applicable accessibility standards or the MUTCD, the requirements will have no impacts on state and local transportation departments. Where a requirement in the proposed guidelines in Table 3 differs from a corresponding requirement in other applicable accessibility standards or there is no corresponding requirement in other applicable accessibility standards, the analysis used the following factors to identify whether the requirement will have more than minimal impacts on state and local transportation departments:

• Whether the requirement can be easily incorporated into the design of the element or facility?

• Whether the requirement adds features to the element or facility?

• Whether the requirement reduces space needed for other purposes?

• What are the additional costs due to the requirement compared to the total design and construction costs for the element or facility?

A requirement that can be easily incorporated into the design of an element or facility, and does not add features to the element or facility or reduce space needed for other purposes will have minimal impacts on state and local transportation departments. A requirement that cannot be easily incorporated into the design of an element or facility, adds features to the element or facility, or reduces space needed for other purposes and that results in additional costs compared to the total design and construction costs of the element or facility which are not negligible (i.e., are worth considering) will have more than minimal impacts on state and local transportation departments.

The analysis identified three requirements in the proposed guidelines in Table 3 that will have more than minimal impacts on state and local transportation departments:

• Detectable warning surfaces on curb ramps and blended transitions at pedestrian street crossings (see R208.1 and R305);

• Accessible pedestrian signals and pedestrian pushbuttons (see R209); and

• Pedestrian activated signals at roundabout intersections with multi-lane pedestrian street crossings (see R206 and R306.3.2).

The impacts of these requirements are analyzed in the regulatory assessment and are discussed below under the relevant requirements in the Section-by-Section Analysis.

Question 1. Comments are requested on whether other requirements in the proposed guidelines will have more than minimal impacts on state and local transportation departments, in addition to the requirements identified in Tables 2 and 3. Comments should:

• Identify the requirement by section number or other information that identifies the specific requirement;

• Explain why the requirement will have more than minimal impacts using the factors described above or other appropriate factors; and

• Provide estimates of the additional costs due to the requirement compared to the total design and construction costs for the element or facility.

Question 2. Comments are requested on whether the requirements in the proposed guidelines have any unintended positive or negative consequences.

Question 3. Comments are requested on alternative regulatory approaches for achieving the objectives of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504, and Architectural Barriers Act to eliminate the discriminatory effects of architectural, transportation, and communication barriers in the design and construction of pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way.

²⁶The requirements analyzed in Table 3 include: alternate pedestrian access routes, pedestrian signal phase timing, accessible pedestrian signals and pedestrian pushbuttons, pedestrian street crossings at roundabouts, detectable warning surfaces on curb ramps and blended transitions at pedestrian street crossings, detectable warning surfaces on pedestrian at-grade rail crossings not located within a street or highway, pedestrian signs, and benches.