Accessibility Issues
(Americans with Disabilities Act- ADA)
Sidewalks and Trails
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.
