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

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.