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Board Holds Meetings on Vehicles and
Communication Access
On July 25th the Board held public
meetings as an initial step in upcoming efforts to update its ADA
guidelines for transportation vehicles and to develop supplementary
guidelines on communication access. The meetings provided an opportunity
for interested parties to advise the Board on key issues or subjects that
should be addressed in these initiatives.
Meeting on the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Transportation
Vehicles
The Board’s guidelines for transportation vehicles
covered by the ADA address buses, vans, various types of rail cars, and
other modes of transportation. The Board plans to review these guidelines,
which were published in 1991, and to propose any revisions or additions as
necessary, including coverage of new or convergent technologies. Meeting
participants included transportation providers, manufacturers, and
representatives from disability groups and trade associations.
Many comments called attention to the advances made in the design of
mobility aids over the past 15 years, which have led to a wider array of
manual and mechanized devices of varying sizes and capabilities. A growing
number of mobility aids are larger and heavier than the standard manual
wheelchair upon which many access specifications are based. The Board was
urged to revise criteria in the guidelines so that access is ensured for a
broader range of mobility aids now in use. Some commenters cautioned the
Board about the potential impacts of such changes to the design of
vehicles, particularly boarding devices, such as lifts, and seating space.
This discussion also touched on accommodation of new mobility
technologies, such as Segways, that have been developed for general use
but are beneficial for some people with walking impairments.
Recommendations also addressed securement devices and restraint
systems, the reliability and quality of on-board announcements of stops
and other passenger information, signage, level boarding at rail cars,
minimum gaps between vehicles and boarding platforms, industry standards
for wheelchairs and mobility aids, coverage of new transportation
technologies, such as bus rapid transit, and accessible restrooms on
buses. The Board will hold another meeting on this topic during its
September meeting in Las Vegas.
Meeting on Communication Access Issues
In response to
previous feedback from the public, including in comments the Board
received in the update of its guidelines for facilities, plans are being
made for a new rulemaking initiative focused on communication
accessibility. This effort will explore areas where access for people with
vision or hearing impairments has been problematic, including kiosks,
point of sales and other interactive transaction machines, drive-through
communication devices, public address systems, signage, and alarms. The
Board’s recent meeting on this topic sought input on key issues and
considerations that should be addressed in this rulemaking. Attendees
included representatives from disability groups, code organizations,
research entities, and manufacturers.
Participants identified
areas where access has been most challenging or where further information
is needed. These included access for people with vision impairments at
kiosks and point of sales machines, various types of alarms, including
carbon monoxide detectors, acoustics, telephone volume control,
drive-through communication devices, and public address systems. Some
commenters highlighted the need for research in various areas or called
attention to new or emerging technologies for improved access, such as
vibrating alarms, directional sound alarms, and audible or “talking” signs
and wayfinding cues.
Additional information on the meetings will be posted on the Board’s
website.
Board’s September Meeting to Take Place in Las
Vegas
Each year the Board holds one of its bi-monthly
meetings in a location outside the Washington, D.C. area to discuss
various aspects of accessibility and the work of the Board. These town
meetings typically focus on topics that relate to the Board’s rulemaking
agenda and allow members of the public to discuss issues of accessibility
with Board members in an informal setting. They also provide an
opportunity for the Board to visit sites and explore access issues in
greater depth.
This year, the Board will travel to Las Vegas to conduct a town meeting
on access issues of concern to the public and ways in which the Board’s
various program areas, including rulemaking, technical assistance, and
training, can be responsive to them. The meeting will be held September
12th from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30, with a reception to follow. In addition, the
Board will hold a public meeting, similar to the one in July, on the
update of its guidelines for transportation vehicles and will explore
newer modes of transportation available in the area, including a bus rapid
transit system, double-decker buses, and the city’s monorail. For further
information on the meetings, contact Kathy Johnson of the Board at (202)
272-0041 (voice), (202) 272-0082 (TTY), or johnson@access-board.gov
(e-mail).
Town Meetings
Sept. 12, 2006
Caesars Palace, Las
Vegas
10:00 – 12:00 Transportation Vehicles
1:30 – 4:30 Public
Forum
4:30 – 6:30 Reception (free)
New Advisory Committee to Meet in
September
The newly formed Telecommunications and Electronic
and Information Technology Advisory Committee will hold its first meeting
September 27 – 29 in the D.C. area. The Board created this committee in
July to review and recommend changes to its standards for electronic and
information technologies which were issued under section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act. The committee will also review the Board’s guidelines
for telecommunications products covered by section 255 of the
Telecommunications Act. The meetings, which are open to the public, will
be held at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Room II-555, 4201 Wilson
Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia. The meetings will take place from 1:00 –
5:00 on the 27th and 9:00 – 5:00 on the following two days. Persons
wishing to attend must pre-register and follow NSF procedures, including
its computer security policy. For more information, contact Tim Creagan at
creagan@access-board.gov
(e-mail), (202) 272-0016 (v), or (202) 272-0081 (TTY).
Committee Co-Chairs Named
The committee is comprised of 41
members representing industry, disability groups, standard-setting bodies
in the U.S. and abroad, and government agencies, among others. Members
were selected from applications received in response to a Board notice.
The Board named committee members Mike Paciello, the Founder &
Principal of the Paciello Group, and Jim Tobias, Principal of Inclusive
Technologies, to serve as co-chairs of the committee. Paciello, an
international authority on web accessibility and assistive technology,
co-founded the Web Accessibility Initiative for the World Wide Web
Consortium. Tobias has over 25 years of experience in accessible
technology, including as a technician at Berkeley's Center for Independent
Living and as a rehabilitation engineer at Bell Labs and Bellcore.
New Resource Available on Rebuilding Accessible
Communities
A new initiative is underway to promote
accessibility in the rebuilding of communities destroyed by last year’s
hurricanes. Rebuilding Accessible Communities, a joint venture of the ADA
Technical Assistance Centers and the Access Board, is focused on
developing and distributing guidance on achieving accessibility in
reconstruction projects. Under this program, an on-line resource has been
launched to disseminate information prepared and collected to date which
is available at www.adata.org/rac/index.aspx.
The Rebuilding Accessible Communities effort was conceived as an
opportunity for community groups, advocates and the building industry to
collectively reconstruct communities in a way to be accessible to all. The
new website, an initial step of this program, currently provides answers
to common questions that have arisen in work to rebuild devastated areas
as well as links to existing sources of information. Additional resources,
best practices and advisory information will be posted to this site as
they become available.
Under this program, the ADA Technical Assistance Centers, which
comprise a national network of federally funded resources serving
different geographic areas, and the Board are providing technical
assistance and training which is geared to the particular needs of
communities. For more information, contact the ADA Technical Assistance
Center serving your area by calling (800) 949-4232 (voice/TTY) or the
Access Board at (800) 872-2253 (voice), (800) 993-2822 (TTY), or by email
at ta@access-board.gov (for
technical assistance) or training@access-board.gov (for
training).
Board Hosts Monthly “Lunch and Learn” Series on
Section 508
The Board is holding monthly discussion sessions
on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to discuss and share information
about different aspects of the law, the Board’s standards, and various
implementation issues. These informal lunchtime sessions are typically
held at the Board’s offices and often feature quest speakers. Due to high
interest and limited space, a teleconference option is also being offered
with realtime transcription. The dates and topics of upcoming
meetings will be posted on the Board’s training calendar and on its
website at www.access-board.gov/sec508/training.htm.
For more information, contact David Baquis at baquis@access-board.gov or (202)
272-0013 (voice) or (202) 272-0082 (TTY).
Comparisons of Board Guidelines and
Building Codes Released
In updating its ADA and ABA
Accessibility Guidelines, the Board sought to reconcile differences from
model building codes, such as the International Building Code (IBC), in
order to facilitate compliance. Last spring, the Board issued a
side-by-side comparison of the updated guidelines, the original ADA
standards, and the IBC (2003 edition). Additional comparisons have been
prepared by the International Code Council (ICC) and the National Fire
Protection Administration (NFPA).
A comparison similar to the Board’s that is based on the 2006 edition
of the IBC was recently made available by the ICC. NFPA has issued a
side-by-side comparison of the NFPA 5000 Building Construction and Safety
Code (2006 edition) and the updated ADA and ABA guidelines. The
comparisons are available free on the ICC’s website at www.iccsafe.org/news/nr/2006/0706access.html
and on NFPA’s website at www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=823&itemID=29693.
The Board’s comparison matrix is posted on its site at www.access-board.gov/ada-aba/comparison/index.htm.
Courthouse Access Advisory Committee to
Present Report in November
The Courthouse Access Advisory
Committee, which the Board organized to promote accessible courthouse
design, is scheduled to present its recommendations at a meeting of the
Board on November 15th. The Committee’s report will provide design
solutions and best practices for ensuring access to courthouses, including
courtrooms, which pose unique challenges to accessibility. It will also
include recommendations to the Board on effective ways to disseminate this
information through various outreach and partnership opportunities.
Chartered in October 2004, the Committee’s 35 members include
courthouse designers, disability groups, members of the judiciary, and
court administrators, among others. Over the past two years, the Committee
met in different cities across the country and toured a variety of
courthouses at each location to collect information upon which to base its
recommendations. The Committee visited local, state, and Federal
courthouses in Phoenix, Chicago, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, and
Washington, D.C.
The Committee’s recommendations will provide guidance on achieving
accessibility in courthouses without compromising traditional and
necessary design features, such as elevated judges’ benches and witness
stands in courtrooms. The Committee will also advise the Board on
strategies for promoting this guidance through websites and on-line
courses, design guides and other materials, training, and outreach. For
further information, contact Dave Yanchulis at caac@access-board.gov
(e-mail), (202) 272-0026 (v), (202) 272-0082 (TTY), or visit the Board’s
website at www.access-board.gov/caac/index.htm.
Access Currents is a
free newsletter issued by the Access Board every other month by mail and
e-mail. Send questions or comments to news@access-board.gov or call
(800) 872-2253 ext. 0026 (voice) or (800) 993-2822 (TTY). Mailing address:
1331 F Street, N.W., Suite 1000; Washington, D.C. 20004-1111.
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