Florida Department of

TRANSPORTATION

ADA / Accessibility Program

FY-2009/2010 Construction QA Critical Requirements - Quality Assessment ADA – Accessibility Issues

To meet the needs of all sidewalk users, designers must have a clear understanding of the wide range of abilities that occur within the population. Sidewalks, like roadways, should be designed to serve all users. This includes children, older people, parents with strollers, pedestrians who have vision impairments, and people using wheelchairs and other assistive devices. Just as a roadway will not be designed for one type of vehicle, the design of sidewalks should not be limited to only a single type of pedestrian user. Because the sidewalk is the basic unit of mobility within our overall system of transportation, every route and facility must be usable. The Accessible Sidewalks and Street Crossings is an informational guide designed to provide guidance for accessible sidewalks and street crossings.

Complying with ADA standards in public rights-of-ways can be difficult. Sidewalks, street crossings, and other elements of the outdoor environment present unique challenges to accessibility for which specific guidance is considered essential. An excellent resource is FHWA's 2001 publication Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access, Part 2 - Best Practice Design Guide (available from FHWA.)

The U. S. Access Board encourages designers and engineers to understand some of the issues involved in being a pedestrian for those who are disabled by watching four short videos as part of their Accessible Sidewalks program.

The Board has been developing guidelines for public rights-of-way in various degrees of success since 1992. When complete, their guidelines will address issues particularly pertinent to highway designers, including access for blind pedestrians at street crossings, wheelchair access to on-street parking, and various constraints posed by space limitations, roadway design practices, slope, and terrain.