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New On-line Guides Available on Accessible Recreation Facilities Last September, the Board issued new guidelines that address access to various types of recreation facilities covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These guidelines, which supplement the Board’s ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), specify access to amusement rides, boating facilities, fishing piers and platforms, golf courses, miniature golf courses, sports facilities, and swimming pools, wading pools, and spas. The guidelines are one of the first of their kind in detailing access to these environments. To help users become familiar with these guidelines, including the meaning and intent of specific provisions, the Board has developed supplementary guides on each of the facility types covered. The new documents, which are intended for use with the guidelines, are available on the Board’s website at www.access-board.gov/recreation/guides/index.htm. Print copies will be published and made available in coming weeks. Board to Hold Meetings in New Orleans and Seattle on Vessel Access This summer the Board will travel to New Orleans and Seattle to gather information and to hold public meetings on access to passenger vessels. Specifically, the Board will further explore means of providing access for passengers with disabilities onto and off of large vessels. The Board will use this information to complete its deliberations on draft guidelines for passenger vessels that will be made available for public comment. Standard methods of boarding vessels and the dynamic interplay between vessels and shoreside facilities present unique challenges to accessibility. The Board aims to collect information on gangways and other means of access onto and off of vessels, which it considers essential in completing a proposed set of guidelines. Of particular interest is access to large vessels such as cruise ships, dinner boats, and gaming boats. The ports of New Orleans and Seattle offer good opportunities to explore these types of vessels. The Board will hold meetings in each city that will enable those with an interest in the subject to discuss and provide input on possible access solutions and their impacts. The meeting in New Orleans will take place August 20th at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. The Seattle meeting will be held September 9th at the Marriott Waterfront. The guidelines being developed are based on recommendations from an advisory body the Board had chartered, the Passenger Vessel Access Advisory Committee. This committee, which represented vessel operators and designers, naval architects, and disability groups, among others, investigated various issues concerning access to different types of vessels. The committee’s recommendations, as contained in a report submitted to the Board, address many aspects of vessel accessibility. The information sought in the upcoming meetings will supplement these recommendations and help the Board complete its guideline proposal. For further information, contact the Board at (202) 272-0012 (voice), (202) 272-0082 (TTY), pvag@access-board.gov (e-mail). Information on the guidelines being developed, including the advisory committee’s report, is available on the Board’s website at www.access-board.gov/pvaac/status.htm. Status Update on the New ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines Last September the Board approved a final rule that would overhaul and update the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). This rule would also revise guidelines for federally funded facilities required to be accessible under the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). While that Board action marked the end of its deliberations on the substance of the new guidelines, remaining steps have yet to be completed before the new ADA and ABA guidelines can be published. These steps, common to Federal rulemaking, include completion of a cost assessment and clearance by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Currently, the Board is completing an analysis of the estimated costs and savings of the new guidelines in relation to existing requirements. This assessment must be completed before the Board can submit the rule to OMB for its review. OMB, which serves as a clearinghouse for Federal regulations, will have 90 days to complete its review. The Board will proceed to publish the final guidelines once approved by OMB. With new guidelines on the horizon, the Board has received many inquiries on when the updated requirements will take effect. Designers have expressed concern about specific projects that may be well underway by the time the updated guidelines are issued. An additional step, this one by other Federal agencies, must be taken into consideration. The Board’s guidelines, by themselves, are not enforceable or mandatory for entities covered by the ADA or ABA. Other agencies, such as the departments of Justice and Transportation under the ADA, and several others under the ABA, are authorized to set the design standards that must be met. Their standards are to be consistent with the Board’s guidelines. These agencies will update their enforceable standards based on the Board’s eventual final rule. As part of this action, the agencies will specify when the updated standards take effect. Estimates on when any of these remaining steps may be completed remain fluid. However, interested persons can receive updates by e-mail on the progress of this and other Board rulemakings. To be added to the list, send an e-mail to news@access-board.gov with “updates” in the subject field or visit the Board’s website at www.access-board.gov/news/updates.htm. Transportation Research Board Funds Study on Roundabouts The Transportation Research Board (TRB), a nonprofit institution that promotes innovation and progress in transportation through research and dissemination of information, recently announced its plan to fund a $750,000 study on access for people with vision impairments at traffic roundabouts. Traffic roundabouts, which typically feature a circular roadway around a central island, are becoming more common in the U.S. as an alternative to standard signalized intersections. While they offer benefits for controlling and slowing traffic without stop signals, the lack of stopped traffic and other cues pose particular challenges to pedestrians with vision impairments. The upcoming study was selected based on a problem statement submitted by the Board, which is exploring the issue of access at roundabouts in guidelines to be proposed on accessible public rights-of-way. The project, to be awarded under TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), will explore and test different designs and treatments that can improve safety for people with visual disabilities at roundabouts, as well as at channelized turn lanes. The aim is to develop recommendations that will supplement industry practice and policies. The project will build upon on-going NCHRP studies on roundabouts and channelized turn lanes. A request for proposals is anticipated in August or September 2003. For further information, visit TRB’s website at http://www4.trb.org/trb/crp.nsf/All+Projects/NCHRP+3-78. Board Continues Outreach Activities on Public Rights-of-Way The Board is currently preparing guidelines on accessible public rights-of-ways that will be published for public comment. An initial draft of the guidelines released last June attracted over 1,400 comments from industry, persons with disabilities, civil engineers, and others. While work proceeds on the guidelines, the Board has maintained on a separate track a complementary program of coordination and outreach with various interested groups. These efforts include the development of guidance material that will supplement future guidelines, chief among them a guide on addressing access in alterations to public rights-of-ways. A team of members from an advisory committee the Board had established to make recommendations on the guidelines being developed has worked with the Board in drafting the alterations guide. This group held meetings across the country over a 2-year period to gather information and resources, including case studies. The group’s most recent, and final meeting, took place in Chicago in May. Previous meetings were held in Columbus, San Antonio, Portland (OR), Las Vegas and Atlanta. The guide is expected to be published later this year. This summer, the Board will participate in a number of meetings and events concerning various aspects of accessible public rights-of-way. Events in June include meetings with U.S. Department of Transportation researchers on railway crossing safety (Cambridge), the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (Savannah), the Western Association of State Highway Transportation Officials and the Utah Department of Transportation (Salt Lake City), the AASHTO Design Committee (Boston), and the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Conference (Cambridge). The Board also will take part in the Urban Street Symposium (Anaheim) in July and the Institute of Transportation Engineers Conference (Seattle) in August. For further information or to arrange a briefing from the Board on accessible public rights-of-ways, contact the Board at (202) 272-0025 (voice), (202) 272-0082 (TTY), or windley@access-board.gov (e-mail). Funding Made Available to States to Improve Voting Access Under the Help America Vote Act, which was signed into law last October, Congress has appropriated $13 million in grants that can be used to enhance the participation of people with disabilities in the electoral process. The Election Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Grant Program enables states and U.S. territories to apply for grants based on the relative size of their voting age populations. Grant amounts range from $100,000 to $1.3 million. Additional funding may be available if not all grants are awarded. The funds can be used to make polling places and voting equipment accessible to persons with physical, sensory, or mental disabilities and to help ensure that they have the same opportunity to participate in elections, including degree of privacy and independence, afforded other voters. Grant monies also can be used to provide information on accessibility and to train election officials, poll workers, and election volunteers on promoting access and increasing participation of people with disabilities in Federal elections. While elections are typically conducted by local governments, the grants will be awarded only to state and territorial governments. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is responsible for administering the grant program, published a notice on the application requirements and conditions in the Federal Register on May 21, 2003, which can be located at www.regulation.gov. The deadline for applications is July 7, 2003. For further information, contact Diann Winford of HHS at (202) 690-5963 or dwinford@acf.hhs.gov (e-mail). Board Vice Chair to Retire After 40 Years of Government Service At the May meeting of the Board, Thurman M. Davis, vice chair of the Board and Deputy Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA), announced his retirement from the Federal government after 40 years of service. Board colleagues extolled his skilled and diplomatic leadership and his unwavering commitment to accessibility. His retirement will take effect July 3. Thurman joined the Board as GSA’s representative in 1995 and soon assumed top leadership posts, serving an unprecedented three terms as the Board’s chair. Each year the Board selects a new chair, alternating between a Federal agency representative and a public member appointed by the President. In between his terms as chair, Davis was elected vice chair. During his tenure in these posts, he led the Board in reaching a number of important milestones, including the complete overhaul of its accessibility guidelines for facilities and the development of new standards for electronic and information technology. He also conducted many Board public hearings and town meetings held across the country and helped organize anniversary celebrations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Architectural Barriers Act. Davis began his career at GSA as a management intern in 1963. He served as administrator for the capital area and mid-Atlantic regions prior to his appointment as Deputy Administrator, the number two post at GSA, in 1995. Davis served as a mentor in several intern and leadership programs and developed a program to interest young African Americans in the architecture and engineering fields. He received a number of top awards for his public service, including the rank of Distinguished Executive, the highest recognition awarded to Federal career executives, and GSA’s Distinguished Service Award. 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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