DISCUSSION OF PROVISIONS

DRAFT GUIDELINES FOR PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY

Clarifications, modifications, and changes that have been incorporated in this draft in response to public comment from industry, consumers, and State and local government agencies are briefly discussed below.

R1: APPLICATION AND ADMINISTRATION

R104.2.1 MUTCD. This draft references the 2003 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The Access Board works closely with the MUTCD team at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to harmonize standards and advisory material and to sponsor needed research. Changes in future MUTCD provisions for accessible pedestrian signals, markings (including detectable warnings), and temporary traffic zones are in process. A joint FHWA/ American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA)/Access Board demonstration project identified desirable characteristics for pedestrian channelizing devices.
FHWA research projects on pedestrian usability at roundabouts and contrast in detectable warnings are underway, and the Board has proposed a FY 2006 project on pedestrian demand signals for use at multi-lane roundabout crossings.

R105 Definitions. This draft uses definitions drawn from key industry references where they
exist.

R2: SCOPING REQUIREMENTS

R201 Application. Text and advisory material has been added to clarify the application of these guidelines to new or altered work (permanent or temporary) put in place within the scope or limits of a planned project in the public right-of-way.

Other requirements, including those for existing facilities, maintenance of accessible features, and effective communication that derive from the ADA title II implementing regulations (28 CFR part 35) or Federal highway-aid funding (49 CFR part 27), are not addressed in these guidelines for new construction and alteration. Advisory notes have been added to clarify this difference.

This draft now includes a reference to the revised ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines (36 CFR part 1191) to cover buildings and facilities newly constructed or altered within the public right-of-way.

R202 Alterations and Additions to Existing Facilities. Text and advisory notes have been added to this draft to clarify the application of new construction guidelines to an alteration project. New work put in place within an existing developed right-of-way must comply with these guidelines to the maximum extent feasible; see Advisory R202.3. Transitional segments that connect undisturbed improvements with new work can facilitate compliance (R202.1.1). Where items are placed within an existing developed streetscape and the circulation route is not altered, items required to be accessible shall be located for optimal usability and access (R202.1.2).

An alteration is a change in a space or element that affects, or could affect, the accessibility or usability of that space or element. In general, when a feature in the public right-of-way is altered, the requirements for new construction in this document must be applied to the maximum extent feasible within the scope or boundary of the project that has been planned. This document does not contain a ‘path of travel’ obligation to expand a given scope of work to include other items or elements that are adjacent to the alteration project nor does it cover an agency’s obligations to achieve program access in its existing facilities that are not being altered.

In response to the comments received, the Board has developed answers to frequently asked questions regarding the application of the alterations requirements. Those questions and the Board’s responses have been included at the end of this discussion.

R204 Pedestrian Access Route (technical provisions at R301). This draft clarifies the requirement for a 1.2-meter-wide (4 ft) accessible route of travel within a pedestrian circulation path, which may be a wider sidewalk, shoulder (if pedestrian use is not prohibited), shared street, or street crossing. A provision requiring periodic passing spaces 1.5 m (5 ft) in width, omitted in the first draft, has been re-instituted. Because of the constraints imposed by right-of-way width, the pedestrian access route (PAR) is relieved of the slope limits that would apply to an accessible route on a site provided it matches the general grade of the adjacent roadway (R301.4). Where the PAR is supported by structure, as in an underpass, overpass, or bridge, this draft requires compliance with ADAAG requirements for ramps.

Technical provisions in the June 2002 draft that would have required a 30-inch separation between changes in level in the PAR have been replaced in this draft with provisions requiring a planar surface (R305.1) and limiting surface discontinuities (R301.5.2). An advisory note discourages the use of heavily textured, rough, or excessively chamfered unit pavings. Research undertaken by the Research and Rehabilitation Training Center (RRTC) at the University of Pittsburgh, under contract to a group of unit masonry associations, measured the vibration effects of various chamfer spacings on wheeled mobility devices and found that chamfers of less than 1.25 mm (.5 in), if flush, were not distinguishable from cast-in-place concrete sidewalks with a broom finish.

A series of related provisions in the June 2002 draft has been reorganized into R301.7 Horizontal Openings, which now includes walkway joints, gratings, flangeway gaps at rail crossings, and sill gaps at elevators and lifts. (Platform and car gaps at transit facilities are addressed at 36 CFR part 1191).

R205 Alternate Pedestrian Access Route. This draft clarifies that the establishment of an alternate pedestrian route is an alteration that must comply to the maximum extent feasible with technical provisions for the pedestrian access route, including curb ramps or blended transitions. MUTCD requirements and advisory material at Part 6D.01 and 6D.02 are referenced and an advisory note added to highlight the safety benefits of same-side alternate routes. Specifications for pedestrian channelizing devices and barricades at 302.4 include a reference to the MUTCD.

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