The drop-offs at the edges of rail station platforms create a clear, documented, and unacceptable hazard to persons with visual impairments. There are no Federalism impacts sufficient to warrant the preparation of a Federalism assessment. The ADA requires the Department to adopt standards consistent with the Access Board guidelines. The Department believes that this period should give transit properties sufficient time to work out the installation and related problems to which the comments referred. Bulletin # 1 also contains a list of products which are claimed by their manufacturers to meet the technical specifications for detectable warnings, but the Access Board neither reviews products for compliance nor certifies the suitability of such products or systems for the purposes for which they are intended. What If I Want Interpreting Services Or Other Ongoing Supports? Even should the ultimate result of the Access Board's rulemaking process be to delete or modify the requirement for detectable warnings in other contexts, there would not be any inconsistency between the Access Board guidelines and DOT regulations, since the guidelines serve as minimum requirements that DOT may exceed in its standards. (An equipment manufacturer, a person with a disability, and one other commenter also took this position). The first was the designation of the last paragraph of @ 38.113 (concerning signage) as (3), rather than (e). PTSB described, in some detail, how the design and operation of a particular lift model (a front door "arcing" lift manufactured by EEC, Inc., Model 141) could create specific hazards for standees. Parts 37 and 38 require wheelchair securement. In none of these cases did the platform edge have a detectable warning. We also agree with the commenters who suggested that priority seating signs should specify that non-disabled persons should move to make room for someone who needs a priority seat. When it drafted these provisions, the Department contemplated a small number of requests from transit providers concerning individual facility or vehicle problems on which flexibility in applying accessibility standards could be provided without negative effects on accessibility. In particular, transit authorities said that safety (e.g., a potential tripping hazard), durability, and maintainability questions about detectable warnings had not been answered satisfactorily. An official website of the United States government Here's how you know. Issued this 25th day of October, 1993, at Washington, D.C. Federico Pena,Secretary of Transportation.For the reasons set forth in the Preamble, the Department of Transportation amends 49 CFR parts 37 and 38 as follows: (b)(1) For purposes of implementing the equivalent facilitation provision in @ 38.2 of this subtitle, the following parties may submit to the Administrator of the applicable operating administration a request for a determination of equivalent facilitation: PAGE 2358 FR 63092, *63101(i) A public or private entity that provides transportation services and is subject to the provisions of subpart D or subpart E this part; or(ii) The manufacturer of a vehicle or a vehicle component or subsystem to be used by such entity to comply with this part. ql[' Flt Tvdccd)ek_Q6NKvzA rzm K7~(2Q9;(H We want to be sure that you or your employee can fully use the accommodation effectively. PAGE 558 FR 63092, *63093specifically for the rail platform market), they asserted, had solved these problems, and no delay in installation requirements was needed. 9*H FuE~W*ETZc3: ZVch.Fbu:c _qZv&5RHO3bnK*A2~pwm@)VK8"gB2laaG We believe the changes to the process suggested in the NPRM-concerning the ability of the various DOT operating administrations to make these determinations and having different procedural steps for manufacturers and transportation providers-are reasonable. Seventeen commenters supported restricting the access of standees to lifts. The Department believes that the Access Board proposal, which focuses on the reach range requirements for ATMs, is reasonable for fare vending machines as well. For example, suppose there is a standing agreement between Amtrak and Commuter Authority B. Two commenters suggested that, when possible, the driver seat disabled passengers on the right side of the bus, so that the driver could see if a passenger had problems with the securement device or needed a stop announcement. To permit a transportation provider to exclude a category of persons with disabilities from using a device that provides access to a vehicle on the basis of a perceived safety hazard, absent information in the rulemaking record that the hazard is real, would be inconsistent with the statute (c.f., the discussion of the transportation of three-wheeled mobility devices in the preamble to the Department's September 6, 1991, final ADA rule (56 FR 45617)). A manufacturer said it should not have to consult with disability groups: it had tried, and had a hard time finding anyone who would respond or who was technically qualified to help. 20590. In a joint Access Board/DOT rule issued prior to this document, the Department adopted the proposal discussed above. Commenters also asked for more clarification or guidance on certain subjects. Converts for an unauthorized term or use Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, managers and supervisors are required to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified Federal employees and applicants. Once your or your employee's needs have been identified, we will prepare a written Action Plan for achieving the proposed accommodations. The Department can also attempt to assist in obtaining disability group input. Equivalent facilitation is a useful provision of the Access Board guidelines and the Department's rules that applies to all accessibility features. (56 FR 45618). Any decision in a matter of this kind requires the Department to strike a balance between the legitimate concerns that commenters have expressed. A disability community commenter suggested. The Department believes that one commenter's concerns about the relationship of the yellow safety strip or "bumpers" (i.e., strips of material along the outward-facing edges of platforms to protect the rail cars and platform edges from abrasion) on some of its platforms can be addressed successfully without regulatory change, and the Department will work with rail operators to that end. In Boston, a blind individual received fatal injuries when she fell off a platform and received a shock from the electrified "third rail." PAGE 1858 FR 63092, *63099transit agencies asked for guidance on how to identify people with hidden disabilities for priority seating purposes (one of these commenters suggested that such passengers self-disclose). Supervisors should be aware that most technologies we purchase as an accommodation may take awhile for employees to master. One transit agency suggested explicitly excluding paratransit vans used for passengers with disabilities from this policy. One disability community commenter and one state or local agency working on disability matters recommended that, regardless of other considerations, each train always have at least one accessible car (after July 1955, presumably). The Department will also endeavor to respond to requests for equivalent facilitation as soon as possible. We do not believe that it is necessary to prohibit applications for equivalent facilitation concerning detectable warnings. Manufacturers and transit providers are different kinds of entities, in different situations (e.g., a transit authority has a local "public" for which it makes sense to hold a public hearing; a manufacturer probably does not). Such spaces shall adjoin, and may overlap, an accessible path. Personal Assistance as a Reasonable Accommodation, FAQ About Obtaining Assistive Technology And Services, DOT Order 1011.1A-Procedures for Processing Reasonable Accommodation Requests b, DOT Disability Program Manager List (Reasonable Accommodation Contacts), Guidelines for Documenting Hidden Medical Conditions, Personal Assistance Services: Questions and Answers, complete the DRC Accommodation Request Form, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology. The Department encourages the use of such accommodations, in the interest of improving safe and convenient service to passengers. The Department is free to consider safety or reliability information that may be developed by the Access Board as it reviews detectable warnings. The Department said that these concerns do not apply with the same force to a new construction situation, where detectable warnings can be made an integral part of the platform design (e.g., through concrete stamping or other methods not involving retrofit). It is fair to conclude from comments to the rule that one of the consequences of having a serious visual impairment is the need to concentrate very hard on mobility and orientation matters that sighted persons handle routinely. The conclusion the Department draws from this study is that there are documented practical problems with the installation and maintenance of some detectable warning materials, which it is necessary for transit properties to address if their installation of detectable warnings is to be successful. In this case, according to a press report, the platform's edge was "marked with abrasive material" in an attempt to provide a warning to persons with vision impairments. In drafting the existing regulatory language, the Department also assumed that equivalent facilitation requests would be made in the rail and transit contexts. 4. Finally, the need of transit properties for time to determine which specific detectable warning product is best for their systems and to go through their procurement processes is reasonable to take into account. WebReasonable accommodations also include any structural changes that may be necessary. (ii) The entity shall make its proposed request available for public comment before the request is made final or transmitted to DOT. The comments from the disability community emphasized the safety need for detectable warnings, particularly for blind and visually impaired persons. Section 37.47(c)(1) is revised to read as follows:@ 37.47 -- Key stations in light and rapid rail systems. The FTA never intended its letters to be used as product endorsements or certifications of compliance. Making the requirements effective at the same time made sense, they said, because they relate to an accessible car-station interface. Five transit agencies noted that they provided lift service to standees without significant problems. Disability group comments expressing concern about the effects of detectable warnings on transit accessibility for persons with mobility impairments are also worthy of consideration. The situations covered by the Access Board proposal are distinguishable from the situation of rail platform edges, and a decision by the Access Board to delete the detectable warning requirement in the former would not affect the requirement in the latter for detectable warnings on platform edges, particularly given the safety consequences of falls from rail station platforms. Hours. However, the Department continues to believe that making equivalent facilitation determinations available also has important advantages. Nine of these were state or local transportation agencies, four were disability community commenters, and one was a state or local agency working on disability matters. _@b'^\481FqTK9jri0TO*5P5NUB19@u$.c[w(e- The proposal received support from both disability community commenters (12) and state or local transportation agencies (10), with the remainder of comments (4) coming from state or local agencies working on disability matters. Two organizations that represent a constituency consisting primarily of persons with mobility impairments said that additional research was needed on the issue of whether detectable warnings were an obstacle or hazard to persons with mobility impairments. We assume that Amtrak would prefer to lease trains from commuter authorities that comply with their ADA obligations. [Q]%hMT!K*ULV}2[xxLs?QE|d7:.tY?_OOj|VZ>qVQpr~Ve_'9cW|}p3.2nOgO?>tizQx;9/8}-ceyXOfuZUZ7Glaq+_TRJb:$96 Four transit agencies went further, asserting that standees should be permitted to use only those buses that fully meet the requirements of 49 CFR part 38 (the Department's ADA vehicle standards). (56 FR 45755). Entities shall not cite these determinations as indicating that a product or method constitute equivalent facilitations in situations other than those to which the determinations specifically pertain. drc.interpreters@dot.gov This Statement uses the terms probable , reasonably possible, and remote to identify three areas within that range, as follows: Probable . The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) changed the name of the former Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) to Federal Transit Administration (FTA). 12101-12213); 49 U.S.C. Providing reasonable accommodations is an interactive process where the employee and his or her manager need to participate to help achieve a successful accommodation. In the NPRM, the Department sought comment on how the proposed Access Board ATM standard modifications would affect automatic fare vending and collection systems. An FTA regulation (49 CFR 609.15(d)) requires FTA-assisted public transit authorities to designate priority seating near the front of vehicles for elderly and handicapped persons. There were several suggestions for refining the NPRM proposal, some of which came from some of the same commenters who endorsed the proposal in general. There are reasons to have such a requirement. These support services are provided throughout DOT, regardless of an employee's geographic location. In the NPRM, the Department emphasized that its concerns were neither about the basic design of the [*63093] detectable warnings or their usefulness to people with vision impairments. The ADA is a nondiscrimination statute, intended to ensure, among other things, that people with disabilities have access to transportation services. (B) The manufacturer of a product or accessibility feature to be used in the facility of such entity to comply with this part. DOT is committed to maintaining public safety while providing maximum flexibility to allow transportation industries to conduct their operations safely and People using canes or walkers and other standees with disabilities who do not use wheelchairs but have difficulty using steps (e.g., an elderly person who can walk on a plane without use of a mobility aid but cannot raise his or her legs sufficiently to climb bus steps) must also be permitted to use the lift, on request. One of these commenters simply said that the current rule should be left in place, without change. WebStatement regarding reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act generally apply to requests for reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, and Common transportation barriers include long travel distances, lack of vehicle, transportation cost, inadequate infrastructure, and adverse policies affecting All it takes is a brief moment of fatigue, or distraction, or disorientation, in the complex and sometimes confusing environment of a rail station, and even a very experienced blind rail system user can make what, in context, is a fatal misstep. In addition, in December 1992, a visually impaired passenger fell to the tracks on Baltimore's subway system, and was struck and injured by a train. The petition requested that the detectable warnings standard be suspended, pending further research. It is the Department's understanding that this material involves a flat, painted-on surface with a sandpaper-like texture, which does not meet the Federal standard for a detectable warning. An official website of the United States government Here's how you know. The Department received over 550 comments on the NPRM, most of which came from individuals with disabilities or organizations representing them, state and local agencies working on disability matters, state and local transportation agencies, and equipment manufacturers. There is no time to make a nationwide search or advertise in trade publications, and no point in seeking cars from distant commuter authorities (which may not meet dimensional requirements for Northeast Corridor service and which would take too long to arrive). Four commenters-three disability community commenters and one manufacturer-said that there should be no equivalent facilitation available for detectable warning materials. 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