29924 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 104 / Monday, June 1, 1998 / Proposed Rules

1The requirement for detectable warnings at

platform edges in transportation facilities was not

suspended.

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.

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:

• Curb ramps (ADAAG 4.7.7);

• 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);

• Reflecting pool edges that are not

protected by railings, walls, or curbs

(ADAAG 4.29.6); and

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

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 vehicularpedestrian 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:

§ llll.llll 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).

§ 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,
29926 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 104 / Monday, June 1, 1998 / Proposed Rules

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.

§ 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