[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 104 (Monday, June 1, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 29924-29926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14443]



[[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

Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 104 / Monday, June 1, 1998 / Proposed 
Rules

[[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