Board Holds Public Forum in Portland, OR on Rights-of-Way Guidelines October 22, 2002

On October 8, 2002, the Access Board held a public meeting in Portland, Oregon on accessibility guidelines it has drafted on public rights-of-ways. The draft guidelines, released last June, address access to public streets and sidewalks for persons with disabilities. The meeting provided an opportunity for the public, including industry groups, persons with disabilities, civil engineers, local governments, and other interested parties to weigh in on the published draft. 

The guidelines cover pedestrian access to sidewalks and streets, including crosswalks, curb ramps, street furnishings, parking, and other components of public rights-of-way. The Board’s aim in developing these guidelines is to ensure that access for persons with disabilities is provided wherever a pedestrian way is newly built or altered, and that the same degree of convenience, connection, and safety afforded the public generally is available to pedestrians with disabilities. The guidelines are being developed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which covers access to a wide range of facilities in the public and private sectors, and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), which requires access to certain federally funded facilities.

Over 100 people attended the meeting, and approximately 40 provided testimony, including civil engineers, persons with disabilities, and government representatives. Comments focused on the impact of various provisions in the guidelines. Of particular concern to many participants were provisions addressing access for persons with vision impairments at street crossings. The draft guidelines include requirements for audible and vibrating cues at walk signals. There was a strong divergence of opinion on this requirement among people with vision impairments and organizations representing them. Some considered audible and tactile signals essential for safe street crossing. Technologies are available that integrate such signals into walk signal systems using discreet tones which automatically adjust to the ambient noise level. Others argued that proper wayfinding techniques and other available cues, including the sound of passing traffic, make these signals an unnecessary and costly burden in the design of pedestrian crossings. Outside the meeting site, several dozen persons with vision impairments organized a protest against the requirement.

Participants were similarly divided on the issue of detectable warnings at curb ramps. Detectable warnings provide a distinctive surface of truncated domes detectable by cane or underfoot to alert people with vision impairments of the transition to vehicular ways. These warnings are intended to compensate for the sloped surfaces of curb ramps which remove a tactile cue provided by curb faces. The draft guidelines include a requirement for a detectable warning surface on ramps and blended transitions that connect to crosswalks.

In addition to comments provided at the meeting, the Board has received many comments on the guidelines by e-mail, mail, and fax during the comment period, which ended October 28th.