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

Significant alternatives which minimize any significant economic impacts on small entities

The regulatory assessment analyzes the following four requirements in the proposed guidelines that will have more than minimal impacts on state and local transportation departments:

• Detectable warning surfaces required on newly constructed and altered curb ramps and blended transitions at pedestrian street crossings (see R208.1 and R305). Detectable warning surfaces consist of small truncated domes that are detectable underfoot. Where curb ramps or blended transitions are provided at pedestrian street crossings, detectable warning surfaces indicate the boundary between a pedestrian route and a vehicular route for pedestrians who are blind or have low vision in place of the missing curb.

• Accessible pedestrian signals and pedestrian pushbuttons required when pedestrian signals newly installed or replaced at signalized intersections (see R209). Accessible pedestrian signals and pedestrian pushbuttons communicate the information about the WALK and DON’T WALK intervals at signalized intersections in non-visual formats (i.e., audible tones and vibrotactile surfaces) to pedestrians who are blind or have low vision.

• Maximum cross slope of 2 percent required on pedestrian access routes, including within pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control. Cross slope is the slope perpendicular to the direction of pedestrian travel. 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. The 2 percent maximum cross slope required on pedestrian access routes has more than minimal impacts on the construction of new tabled intersections in hilly urban areas that contain pedestrian street crossings with yield or stop control where vehicles slow or stop before proceeding through the intersection.

• Pedestrian activated signals at roundabouts with multi-lane pedestrian street crossings. A roundabout is a circular intersection with yield control at entry, which permits a vehicle on the circulatory roadway to proceed, and with deflection of the approaching vehicle counter-clockwise around a central island. Pedestrian activated signals are required at roundabouts with multi-lane pedestrian street crossings to facilitate crossing by pedestrians who are blind or have low vision. Small governmental jurisdictions with a population less than 50,000 are not likely to construct roundabouts with multi-lane pedestrian street crossings and will not be affected by this requirement.

There are no significant alternatives that will minimize any significant impacts of these requirements on small governmental jurisdictions and achieve the objectives of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Architectural Barriers Act to eliminate the discriminatory effects of architectural, transportation, and communication barriers in the design and construction of pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way.