36 CFR Part 1190, Proposed Accessibility Guidelines for Pedestrian Facilities in the Public Right-of-Way: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)

Architectural Barriers Act

The Architectural Barriers Act (42 U.S.C. 4151 et seq.) requires certain facilities financed with federal funds to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Architectural Barriers Act covers facilities financed in whole or part by a federal grant or loan where the federal agency that provides the grant or loan is authorized to issue standards for the design, construction, or alteration of the facilities.⁸ See 42 U.S.C. 4151 (3). The General Services Administration is required to issue accessibility standards for facilities covered by the Architectural Barriers Act.⁹ See 42 U.S.C. 4156. The accessibility standards issued by the General Services Administration adopt, without any additions or modifications, the Access Board’s current guidelines, which are discussed below under the Need for Rulemaking. See 41 CFR 102‒76.65.

The Access Board is responsible for enforcing the Architectural Barriers Act. See 29 U.S.C 792 (b) (1) and (e).

⁸The Architectural Barriers Act also covers facilities constructed, altered, or leased by federal agencies; and facilities constructed or altered by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. See 42 U.S.C. 4151 (1), (2), and (4).

⁹The accessibility standards issued by the General Services Administration apply to all facilities covered by the Architectural Barriers Act, except for postal, military, and residential facilities. The United States Postal Service is responsible for issuing accessibility standards for postal facilities; the Department of Defense is responsible for issuing accessibility standards for military facilities; and the Department of Housing and Urban Development is responsible for issuing accessibility standards for residential facilities. See 42 U.S.C. 4153, 4154, and 4154a.