Transportation for Individuals With Disabilities; Adoption of Accessibility Standards for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way

Rule/Notice/NOFO:  Transportation for Individuals With Disabilities; Adoption of Accessibility Standards for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way

Federal Register/Notice: Federalregister.gov

Type of Requirement: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)

Description: The U.S. Department of Transportation is proposing to amend its rules implementing the transportation provisions under Title II, Part B, and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by adopting as regulatory accessibility standards the Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way (PROWAG) issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) on August 8, 2023. The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that pedestrian facilities located in the public right-of-way are readily accessible to and usable by pedestrians with disabilities. Despite on-going efforts to improve access, pedestrians with disabilities throughout the United States continue to face major challenges in public rights-of-way because many sidewalks, crosswalks, and other pedestrian facilities are inaccessible. Equal access to pedestrian facilities is of particular importance because pedestrian travel is the principal means of independent transportation for many persons with disabilities.

This proposed rule would adopt the Access Board’s PROWAG into the Department’s ADA regulations. When adopted, DOT’s public right-of-way ADA standards will apply only to new construction and alterations of transit stops in the public right-of-way.

For purposes of this rulemaking, transit stops in the public right-of-way are facilities in the public right-of-way used in the provision of designated or specified public transportation, as defined in DOT’s existing ADA regulations.

APTA Comment/Letter: Under Development

APTA Staff Advisor: Art Guzzetti: aguzzetti@apta.com