[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 70734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-23161]


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ARCHITECTURAL AND TRANSPORTATION BARRIERS COMPLIANCE BOARD

36 CFR Parts 1190 and 1191

[Docket No. 02-1]
RIN 3014-AA26


Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Guidelines 
for Buildings and Facilities; Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) 
Accessibility Guidelines; Public Rights-of-Way

AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft guidelines.

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SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 
(Access Board) has placed in the docket and on its Web site for public 
review draft guidelines which address accessibility in the public 
right-of-way. The draft guidelines are under consideration by the 
Board. The purpose of placing the draft guidelines in the docket is to 
facilitate gathering of additional information for the regulatory 
assessment and the preparation of technical assistance materials to 
accompany a future rule. The Board is not seeking comments on the draft 
guidelines. The Board will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking at a 
future date and will solicit comments at that time, prior to issuing a 
final rule.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Windley, Office of Technical and 
Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers 
Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004-
1111. Telephone number (202) 272-0025 (voice); (202) 272-0082 (TTY). 
Electronic mail address: board.gov">windley@access-board.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1999, the Architectural and 
Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) established the 
Public Rights-of-Way Access Advisory Committee (Committee) to make 
recommendations on accessibility guidelines for newly constructed and 
altered public rights-of-way covered by the Americans with Disabilities 
Act of 1990 and the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. The Committee 
was comprised of representatives from disability organizations, public 
works departments, transportation and traffic engineering groups, 
design professionals and civil engineers, pedestrian and bicycle 
organizations, Federal agencies, and standard-setting bodies. The 
Committee met on five occasions between December 1999 and January 2001. 
On January 10, 2001, the Committee presented its recommendations on 
accessible public rights-of-way in a report entitled ``Building a True 
Community.'' The Committee's report provided recommendations on access 
to sidewalks, street crossings, and other related pedestrian facilities 
and addressed various issues and design constraints specific to public 
rights-of-way. The report is available on the Access Board's Web site 
at http://www.access-board.gov/prowac/commrept/index.htm or can be 
ordered by calling the Access Board at (202) 272-0080. Persons using a 
TTY should call (202) 272-0082. The report is available in alternate 
formats upon request. Persons who want a copy in an alternate format 
should specify the type of format (cassette tape, braille, large print, 
or ASCII disk).
    The Access Board convened an ad hoc committee of Board members to 
review the Committee's recommendations. After reviewing the report in 
detail, the Board's ad hoc committee prepared recommendations for 
guidelines addressing accessibility in the public right-of-way. On June 
17, 2002, the Board made the recommendations of the ad hoc committee 
available for public comment and review by notice in the Federal 
Register (67 FR 41206).
    Over 1,400 comments were received from the public in response to 
the publication of the draft. Of this total, almost 900 comments were 
from persons with disabilities and groups representing them; the great 
preponderance of comments in this category came from people who 
indicated that they were blind or had low vision. Respondents from the 
transportation industry, including design engineers and consultants, 
submitted slightly over 200 comments. Another 100 were received from 
State and local government administrative agencies. Comments are posted 
on the Board's Web site at http://www.access-board.gov/prowac/comments/index.htm. Further discussion of the comments received is available in 
the supplementary information accompanying the draft guidelines.
    The members of the Board's ad hoc committee subsequently reviewed 
and considered the comments received in response to the 2002 Federal 
Register notice. The draft guidelines made available today on the 
Board's Web site are the result of those deliberations. The Access 
Board is making the draft guidelines available in order to facilitate 
the gathering of additional information for a regulatory assessment 
prior to publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking and to assist in 
the development of technical assistance materials. The Board is not 
soliciting comments on the draft guidelines. The Board will solicit 
comments when a proposed rule is issued in conjunction with the 
regulatory assessment. The draft guidelines along with supplementary 
information have been placed in the rulemaking docket (Docket No. 02-1) 
for public review. The draft guidelines and supplementary information 
are also available on the Access Board's Web site at http://www.access-board.gov/prowac/draft.htm. You may also obtain a copy of the draft 
guidelines and supplementary information by contacting the Access Board 
at (202) 272-0080. Persons using a TTY should call (202) 272-0082. The 
documents are available in alternate formats upon request. Persons who 
want a copy in an alternate format should specify the type of format 
(cassette tape, braille, large print, or ASCII disk).

Lawrence W. Roffee,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 05-23161 Filed 11-22-05; 8:45 am]
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