Questions & Answers: Supplement to the 2013 DOJ/DOT Joint Technical Assistance on the Title II of the ADA Requirements To Provide Curb Ramps when Streets, Roads, or Highways are Altered through Resurfacing

Q7: Is a curb ramp required for a sidewalk that is not made of concrete or asphalt?

A7: The Joint Technical Assistance states that "the ADA does not require installation of ramps or curb ramps in the absence of a pedestrian walkway with a prepared surface for pedestrian use."  A "prepared surface for pedestrian use" can be constructed out of numerous materials, including concrete, asphalt, compacted soil, decomposed granite, and other materials.  Regardless of the materials used to construct the pedestrian walkway, if the intent of the design was to provide access to pedestrians, then curb ramps must be incorporated where an altered roadway intersects the pedestrian walkway.  See 28 CFR 35.151(i).