1 June 1998
Source: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aaces002.html

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[Federal Register: June 1, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 104)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 29923-29926]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01jn98-42]

[[Page 29923]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part XVI

Department of Justice

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

Department of Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________

Office of the Secretary

_______________________________________________________________________

28 CFR Part 36, et al.

Americans With Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines; Detectable
Warnings; Joint Proposed Rule

[[Page 29924]]

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Office of the Attorney General

28 CFR Part 36

[A.G. Order No. 2148-98]

ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD

36 CFR Part 1191

RIN 3014-AA24

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

49 CFR Part 37


Americans With Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines;
Detectable Warnings

AGENCIES: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board,
Department of Justice, and Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Joint notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
(Access Board) and the departments of Justice and Transportation
propose to continue the suspension of the requirements for detectable
warnings at curb ramps, hazardous vehicular areas, and reflecting pools
in the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)
from July 26, 1998 to July 26, 2000. The Access Board plans to issue a
separate notice of proposed rulemaking later this year to revise and
update ADAAG. The departments of Justice and Transportation will also
issue separate notices of proposed rulemaking to revise and update the
Standards for Accessible Design, which must be consistent with the
guidelines published by the Access Board. Continuing the suspension of
the detectable warning requirements will allow the Access Board, and
the departments of Justice and Transportation to address those
requirements in the rulemaking to revise and update ADAAG, and the
Standards for Accessible Design.

DATES: Comments should be received by July 1, 1998. Comments received
after this date will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to the Office of the General
Counsel, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board,
1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-1111. The Access
Board will provide copies of all comments received to the departments
of Justice and Transportation.
    Comments will be available for inspection at the above address from
9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on regular business days.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Access Board: James J. Raggio, General Counsel, Architectural and
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite
1000, Washington, DC 20004-1111. Telephone (202) 272-5434 extension 16
or (800) 872-2253 extension 16 (voice), and (202) 272-5449 (TTY) or
(800) 993-2822 (TTY).
    Department of Justice: John L. Wodatch, The ADA Information Line,
Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of
Justice, Washington DC 20530. Telephone (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800)
514-0383 (TTY).
    Department of Transportation: Robert C. Ashby, Deputy Assistant
General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement, Department of
Transportation, 400 7th Street, SW., room 10424, Washington, DC 20590.
Telephone (202) 366-9306 (voice) or (202) 755-7687 (TTY).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Availability of Copies and Electronic Access

    Copies of this proposed rule are available in the following
formats: standard print, large print, Braille, audio cassette tape, and
computer disk. Single copies may be obtained at no cost by calling the
Access Board's automated publications order line (202) 272-5434 or
(800) 872-2253, pressing 1 on the telephone keypad, then 1 again, and
requesting publication S40 (Detectable Warnings Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking). Persons using a TTY should call (202) 272-5449 or (800)
993-2822. Please record your name, address, and telephone number when
ordering publications. Persons who want a copy in large print, Braille,
audio cassette tape, or computer disk should specify the type of format
they want.
    The proposed rule is available on the Access Board's web site
(http://www.access-board.gov/rules/dw.htm) or the Department of
Justice's web site (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm). The
proposed rule is also available on electronic bulletin board at (202)
514-6193 (Department of Justice). This telephone number is not toll-
free.

Background

    The Access Board is responsible for issuing guidelines to assist
the departments of Justice and Transportation in establishing
accessibility standards for newly constructed and altered facilities
under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 1991, the Access Board
issued the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (36
CFR part 1191), which is commonly referred to as ADAAG. Sections 1
through 10 of ADAAG have been adopted as the Standards for Accessible
Design by the departments of Justice (28 CFR part 36) and
Transportation (49 CFR part 37) for the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
    As issued in 1991, ADAAG required that a pattern of raised
truncated domes be built in or applied to walking surfaces at certain
locations within a site to warn pedestrians who are blind or visually
impaired of hazards on a circulation path. The detectable warnings were
required at:
    <bullet> Curb ramps (ADAAG 4.7.7);
    <bullet> Hazardous vehicular areas where pedestrian ways adjoin
vehicular ways and there are no curbs, railings, or other elements
separating the pedestrian and vehicular ways (ADAAG 4.29.5);
    <bullet> Reflecting pool edges that are not protected by railings,
walls, or curbs (ADAAG 4.29.6); and
    <bullet> Platform edges in transportation facilities that are not
protected by platform screens or guard rails (ADAAG 10.3.1 (8)).
    In 1994, the Access Board and the departments of Justice and
Transportation initially suspended the requirements for detectable
warnings at curb ramps, hazardous vehicular areas, and reflecting pools
until July 26, 1996, pending the results of a research project on the
need for detectable warnings at vehicular-pedestrian intersections in
the public right-of-way. 59 FR 17442 (April 12, 1994).<SUP>1</SUP> The
research project showed that vehicular-pedestrian intersections are
very complex environments and that pedestrians who are blind or
visually impaired use a combination of cues to detect intersections.
The research project found that detectable warnings helped some
pedestrians who are blind or visually impaired locate and identify curb
ramps. However, the detectable warnings had only a modest impact on
overall performance because, in their absence, pedestrians who are
blind or visually impaired used other cues that might be available to
detect the intersection. The research project

[[Page 29925]]

indicated that there may be a need for additional cues at some types of
intersections. The research project did not identify the specific
conditions where such cues should be provided. The research project
suggested that other technologies, which may be less costly and equally
or more effective than detectable warnings, be explored for providing
information about intersections.
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    \1\ The requirement for detectable warnings at platform edges in
transportation facilities was not suspended.
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    In 1996, the Access Board and the departments of Justice and
Transportation extended the suspension of the detectable warning
requirements to July 26, 1998, to allow an advisory committee to
conduct a comprehensive review of ADAAG and make recommendations for
revising and updating the document. 61 FR 39323 (July 29, 1996). The
advisory committee has completed its work and has recommended that the
requirement for detectable warnings at platform edges in transportation
facilities be retained. The advisory committee also made specific
recommendations for permitting equivalent tactile surfaces, and
technology or other means to provide equivalent detectability of the
platform edge as an alternative to the truncated dome surface. The
advisory committee did not make any recommendations regarding the
provision of detectable warnings at other locations within a site. The
advisory committee suggested that the appropriateness of providing
detectable warnings at vehicular-pedestrian intersections in the public
right-of-way should be established first, and the application to other
locations within a site should be considered afterwards.
    The Access Board is preparing a separate notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) to revise and update ADAAG based on the
recommendations of the advisory committee, as well as research and
other available information. The Access Board plans to issue the NPRM
to revise and update ADAAG later this year. Because the Standards for
Accessible Design issued by the departments of Justice and
Transportation must be consistent with the guidelines published by the
Access Board, the Access Board and the departments of Justice and
Transportation will propose to extend the suspension of the requirement
for detectable warnings until July 26, 2000, by which time it is
expected that the regulatory process by which ADAAG and the Standards
for Accessible Design are to be revised will be complete.

Regulatory Process Matters

    The Access Board and the departments of Justice and Transportation
have independently determined that this proposed rule is not a
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. It is not a
significant rule under the Department of Transportation's regulatory
policies and procedures. The Department of Transportation expects the
economic impacts to be minimal and has not prepared a full regulatory
evaluation.
    The Access Board and the departments of Justice and Transportation
also independently certify under section 605(b) of the Regulatory
Flexibility Act that this proposed rule is not expected to have a
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities
because it continues the suspension of an existing regulatory
requirement and does not impose any new requirement.
    The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act does not apply to proposed or
final rules that enforce constitutional rights of individuals or
establish or enforce any statutory rights that prohibit discrimination
on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,
handicap, or disability. Since the proposed rule is issued under the
authority of the Americans with Disabilities Act, an assessment of the
rule's effects on State, local, and tribal governments, and the private
sector is not required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

Text of Proposed Common Rule

    The text of the common rule is revised to read as follows:
    Sec. ________.________ Temporary suspension of certain detectable
warning requirements.
    The detectable warning requirements contained in sections 4.7.7,
4.29.5, and 4.29.6 of appendix A to this part are suspended temporarily
until July 26, 2000.

Adoption of Proposed Common Rule

    The agency specific proposals to adopt the proposed common rule,
which appears at the end of the common preamble, are set forth below.

Department of Justice

Office of the Attorney General

28 CFR Part 36

List of Subjects in 28 CFR Part 36

    Administrative practice and procedure, Alcoholism, Buildings and
facilities, Business and industry, Civil rights, Consumer protection,
Drug abuse, Historic preservation, HIV/AIDS, Individuals with
disabilities, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements,
Transportation.

Authority and Issuance

    By the authority vested in me as Attorney General by 28 U.S.C. 509,
510; 5 U.S.C. 301; and 42 U.S.C. 12186, and for the reasons set forth
in the common preamble, part 36 of chapter I of title 28 of the Code of
Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 36--NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY BY PUBLIC
ACCOMMODATIONS AND IN COMMERCIAL FACILITIES

    1. The authority citation for 28 CFR part 36 continues to read as
follows:

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510; 42 U.S.C. 12186(b).

Sec. 36.407  [Revised]

    2. Section 36.407 is revised to read as set forth at the end of the
common preamble.

    Dated: April 23, 1998.
Janet Reno,
Attorney General.

Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board

36 CFR Part 1191

List of Subjects In 36 CFR Part 1191

    Buildings and facilities, Civil rights, Individuals with
disabilities, Transportation.

Authority and Issuance

    For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, part 1191 of
title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended
as follows:

PART 1191--AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) ACCESSIBILITY
GUIDELINES FOR BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES

    1. The authority citation for 36 CFR part 1191 continues to read as
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 12204.

    2. Section 1191.2 is revised to read as set forth at the end of the
common preamble.
    Authorized by vote of the Access Board on January 28, 1998.
Patrick D. Cannon,
Chair, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

Department of Transportation

Office of the Secretary

49 CFR Part 37

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 37

    Buildings and facilities, Buses, Civil rights, Individuals with
disabilities, Mass transportation, Railroads,

[[Page 29926]]

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

Authority and Issuance

    For the reasons set forth in the common preamble, part 37 of title
49 of the Code of Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended as
follows:

PART 37--TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES
(ADA)

    1. The authority citation for 49 CFR part 37 is revised to read as
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 12101-12213; 49 U.S.C. 322.

Sec. 37.15  [Revised]

    2. Section 37.15 is revised to read as set forth at the end of the
common preamble.
Rodney E. Slater,
Secretary of Transportation.
[FR Doc. 98-14443 Filed 5-29-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-13-P, 8150-01-P, 4910-62-P
