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

R302 Pedestrian Access Routes (Section-by-Section Analysis)

General (R302.1) (Section-by-Section Analysis)

The technical requirements for pedestrian access routes are contained in R302, and adapt the technical requirements for accessible routes in the 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines to the public right-of-way. In alterations where existing physical constraints make it impractical to fully comply with the technical requirements, compliance is required to the extent practicable within the scope of the project (see R202.3.1).

Components (R302.2) (Section-by-Section Analysis)

The components of pedestrian access routes and the technical requirements for each component are listed in R302.2. Sidewalks and other pedestrian circulation paths, pedestrian street crossings, and pedestrian overpasses and underpasses and similar structures must comply with all the technical requirements in R302.3 through R302.7. Curb ramps and blended transitions must comply with the technical requirements in R302.7 and R304. Ramps must comply with the technical requirements in R407. Elevators, limited use/limited application elevators, platform lifts, and doors, doorways, and gates must comply with applicable technical requirements in the 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines.

Continuous Width (R302.3) (Section-by-Section Analysis)

The continuous clear width of pedestrian access routes (exclusive of the width of the curb) must be 1.2 meters (4 feet) minimum, except for medians and pedestrian refuge islands where the clear width must be 1.5 meters (5 feet) minimum in order to allow for passing space. The AASHTO “Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities” recommends that sidewalks be wider than 1.2 meters (4 feet), particularly in urban areas. Where sidewalks are wider than 1.2 meters (4 feet), only a portion of the sidewalk is required to comply with the technical requirements in R302.3 through R302.7.

The advisory committee recommended a minimum width of 1.5 meters (5 feet) for pedestrian access routes. The proposed guidelines specify a minimum width of 1.2 meters (4 feet) in order to allow for street furniture and other objects that may be located on sidewalks. R210 prohibits street furniture and other objects from reducing the clear width required for pedestrian access routes. A minimum width of 1.2 meters (4 feet) will accommodate turns at intersections and building entrances. Advisory information recommends additional maneuvering clearance at turns or changes in direction, recesses and alcoves, building entrances, and along curved or angled routes, particularly where the grade exceeds 5 percent.

Passing Spaces (R302.4) (Section-by-Section Analysis)

Where the clear width of pedestrian access routes is less than 1.5 meters (5 feet), passing spaces must be provided at intervals of 61 meters (200 feet) maximum. Passing spaces must be 1.5 meters (5 feet) minimum by 1.5 meters (5 feet) minimum. Passing spaces are permitted to overlap pedestrian access routes.

Grade (R302.5) (Section-by-Section Analysis)

Grade is the slope parallel to the direction of pedestrian travel. Grade is calculated by dividing the vertical change in elevation by the horizontal distance covered, and is expressed as a percent. Where pedestrian access routes are contained within a street or highway right-of-way, the grade of the pedestrian access route is permitted to equal the general grade established for the adjacent street or highway, except that where pedestrian access routes are contained within pedestrian street crossings a maximum grade of 5 percent is required. This is consistent with the AASHTO “Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets” which recommends that the sidewalk grade follow the grade of adjacent roadways, and also recommends maximum cross slopes for roadways. Where pedestrian access routes are not contained within a street or highway right-of-way, a maximum grade of 5 percent is required.

Cross Slope (R302.6) (Section-by-Section Analysis)

Cross slope is the slope perpendicular to the direction of pedestrian travel (see R105.5). On a sidewalk, cross slope is measured perpendicular to the curb line or edge of the street or highway. Cross slope impedes travel by pedestrians who use wheeled mobility devices since energy must be expended to counteract the perpendicular force of the cross slope. Cross slope makes it more difficult for pedestrians who use wheelchairs to travel on uphill slopes and to maintain balance and control on downhill slopes. Cross slope also negatively affects pedestrians who use braces, lower limb prostheses, crutches, or walkers, as well as pedestrians who have gait, balance, or stamina impairments. The maximum cross slope permitted on accessible routes in the 2004 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines is 2 percent. In exterior environments, a maximum cross slope of 2 percent is generally accepted as adequate to allow water to drain off paved walking surfaces.

A maximum cross slope of 2 percent is specified for pedestrian access routes, except for pedestrian access routes contained within certain pedestrian street crossings in order to allow for typical roadway geometry. A 5 percent maximum cross slope is specified for pedestrian access routes contained within pedestrian street crossings without yield or stop control to avoid any unintended negative impacts on the control and safety of vehicles, their occupants, and pedestrians in the vicinity of the intersection. Pedestrian street crossings without yield or stop control are crossings where there is no yield or stop sign, or where there is a traffic signal that is designed for the green phase. At pedestrian street crossings without yield or stop control vehicles can proceed through the intersection without slowing or stopping. The cross slope of pedestrian access routes contained within midblock pedestrian street crossings is permitted to equal the street or highway grade.

Question 13. Comments are requested on whether the description of pedestrian street crossings without yield or stop control is clear, or whether there is a better way to describe such crossings?

In new construction, where pedestrian access routes within sidewalks intersect at corners, the 2 percent maximum cross slope requirement will result in level corners (i.e., the slope at the corners will not exceed 2 percent in each direction of pedestrian travel). The level corners will provide a platform for providing level spaces for curb ramps and blended transitions, pedestrian street crossings, and accessible pedestrian signals and pedestrian pushbuttons.

Newly Constructed Tabled Intersections That Contain Pedestrian Street Crossings With Yield or Stop Control (Section-by-Section Analysis)

The 2 percent maximum cross slope requirement applies to pedestrian access routes within pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control where vehicles slow or stop before proceeding through the intersection. The cross slope of the pedestrian access route within the pedestrian street crossing is the longitudinal grade of the street being crossed, and the 2 percent maximum cross slope requirement will impact the vertical alignment of streets in the vicinity of the intersection. In new construction, street intersections in hilly urban areas are typically cut-and filled to produce relative flat or tabled intersections. Where pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control are provided at newly constructed tabled intersections, the tabling would be extended to the pedestrian street crossings to comply with the 2 percent maximum cross slope for pedestrian access routes within the pedestrian street crossings.

Question 14. The Access Board seeks information on the current design policies and practices of state and local transportation departments with respect to tabling newly constructed intersections in hilly urban areas, and particularly whether the tabling is extended to pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control.

In new construction, extending the tabling of intersections to pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control involves additional costs for site preparation, grading, and earthwork. The Volpe Center roughly estimated the additional costs to extend the tabling to pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control to be $60,000 per intersection based on information provided by a transportation official to the Access Board. The costs will vary by site.

Question 15. The Access Board seeks information on the additional costs to extend the tabling of newly constructed intersections in hilly urban areas to pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control.

Question 16. The Access Board seeks information on number of tabled intersections which contain pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control that are newly constructed in hilly urban areas on an annual basis by state and local transportation departments.

Surfaces (R302.7) (Section-by-Section Analysis)

The proposed technical requirements for surfaces apply to pedestrian access routes, including curb ramps and blended transitions, and accessible elements and spaces that connect to pedestrian access routes. An advisory section lists the accessible elements and spaces that connect to pedestrian access routes and are required to comply with the technical requirements for surfaces.

The surfaces of pedestrian access routes and the surfaces at accessible elements and spaces that connect to pedestrian access routes must be firm, stable, and slip resistant. Vertical alignment of surfaces within pedestrian access routes (including curb ramp runs, blended transitions, turning spaces, and gutter areas within pedestrian access routes) and within the surfaces at accessible elements and spaces that connect to pedestrian access routes must be generally planar. Grade breaks (i.e., the line where two surface planes with different grades meet, see R105.5) must be flush. Where pedestrian access routes cross rails at grade, the pedestrian access route must be level and flush with the top of the rail at the outer edges of the rails, and the surfaces between the rails must be aligned with the top of the rail.

Vertical surface discontinuities (i.e., vertical difference in level between two adjacent surfaces, see R105.5) must be 13 millimeters (0.5 inch) maximum. Vertical surface discontinuities between 6.4 millimeters (0.25 inch) and 13 millimeters (0.5 inch) must be beveled with a slope not steeper than 50 percent, and the bevel must be applied across the entire vertical surface discontinuity. Horizontal openings in gratings and joints must not permit the passage of a sphere more than 13 millimeters (0.5 inch) in diameter. Elongated openings in gratings must be placed so that the long dimension is perpendicular to the dominant direction of travel.

Flangeway gaps at pedestrian at-grade rail crossings must be 64 millimeters (2.5 inches) maximum on non-freight rail track, and 75 millimeters (3 inches) maximum on freight rail track. These are the typical gaps required to allow passage of train wheel flanges. The flangeway gaps are wider than the maximum gap allowed for horizontal openings in other surfaces. These wider flangeway gaps pose a potential safety hazard to pedestrians who use wheelchairs because the gap can entrap the wheelchair casters.³⁹  The Federal Railroad Administration is sponsoring research to develop materials or devices that will fill the flangeway gap under light loads of a wheelchair but will compress or retract when a train wheel flange passes over it.⁴⁰  The materials or devices will be tested under heavy and light train loads for safety, effectiveness, durability, and cost.

Question 17. The Access Board seeks information on materials and devices that fill the flangeway gap, and any related research and sources of expertise.

³⁹For additional information on the potential safety hazard of flangeway gaps, see “Wheelchair Safety at Rail Level Crossings, International Review Working Paper” (2003) athttp://www.transport.vic.gov.au/DOI/DOIElect.nsf/$UNIDS+for+Web+Display/43D9BDF138FFE9F9CA256D630011A607/$FILE/Rail_Crossing_Disability_Access-International_Review.pdf; and “Rail Crossing Disability Access Kit” (2003) available at: http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/DOI/DOIElect.nsf/UNIDS+for+Web+Display/E995EA3FEB44F07CCA256D630011AD71/$FILE/Rail_Crossing_Disability_Access-Toolkit.pdf.

⁴⁰For announcement of award of research contact in 2010, see http://www.volpe.dot.gov/sbir/ph1rec10.html and http://www.integran.com/news/IT%20USA%20DOT%20Flangeway%20Gap%20SBIR%20-%20100323.pdf. The Transportation Research Board has also developed research need statements for reducing flangeway gaps at railroad crossings. See “Wheelchairs Crossing Flangeway Gaps at Railroad Crossings” (2007); and “Reducing Flangeway Gaps at Railroad Crossings to Better Accommodate Pedestrians” (2008). The research need statements are available at: http://rns.trb.org/dproject.asp?n=13462 and http://rns.trb.org/dproject.asp?n=17644.