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

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794) (hereinafter referred to as “Section 504”) prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The term “program or activity” includes all the operations of a state or local government entity that receives federal financial assistance directly or indirectly from the federal government. See 29 U.S.C. 794 (b). Each federal agency that provides federal financial assistance is responsible for issuing regulations to implement Section 504 that are consistent with requirements established by the Department of Justice. See Executive Order 12250 in Appendix A to 28 CFR part 41. The Department of Justice requires facilities designed, constructed, or altered by recipients of federal financial assistance to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. See 28 CFR 41.58.

The Department of Transportation provides federal financial assistance to state and local governments for the development of transportation networks, including pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way.⁷ The regulations issued by the Department of Transportation to implement Section 504 require facilities designed, constructed, or altered by recipients of federal financial assistance from the Department to comply with accessibility standards included in the Department’s regulations implementing the public transportation parts of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. See 49 CFR §27.3. As discussed above, the accessibility standards included in the Department of Transportation regulations implementing the public transportation parts of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act adopt, with additions and modifications, the Access Board’s current guidelines, which are discussed below under the Need for Rulemaking. See 49 CFR 37.9 and Appendix A to 49 CFR part 37.

The Department of Transportation is responsible for investigating complaints and conducting compliance reviews under Section 504 relating to recipients of federal financial assistance from the Department. See 49 CFR 27.121 and 27.123.

⁷See Department of Transportation “Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and Recommendations” at: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2010/bicycle-ped.html.