The Disability Resource Center (DRC) is available to help all Department of Transportation managers, supervisors, and employees understand the accommodation process and obtain necessary equipment and services. The ADA requires the Department to adopt standards consistent with the Access Board guidelines. Sixteen commenters-including both transportation agencies and disability community commenters, among others-favored the NPRM's proposal. We do not believe that such accommodations should be required, however. The Department will also endeavor to respond to requests for equivalent facilitation as soon as possible. The authority citation for 49 CFR part 37 continues to read as follows: Authority: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. However, the ADA regulation is in Subchapter I of that Title. There are no Federalism impacts sufficient to warrant the preparation of a Federalism assessment. The Department of Justice and the Access Board do not: In non-transportation contexts, if a facility owner determines that it has made an equivalent facilitation, if need not seek approval or confirmation from any Federal agency. 4 Transportation barriers We agree with the commenters who suggested modifying the proposal to specify that drivers or other personnel on vehicles not be required to enforce a request for someone to move from a priority seat (e.g., by physically removing a recalcitrant passenger or parking the bus and calling the police.) The DRC will then purchase the items or services outlined in the Action Plan, at no additional cost to your operating administration. For a short-term lease of commuter rail cars (i.e., for a period of seven days or less; the Department sought comment on whether this is the appropriate period), Amtrak and commuter authorities could have, in standing. The main point of all commenters supporting a restriction on the use of lifts by standees was the safety risk that they believe to exist. Loss contingencies resulting from illegal acts In none of these cases did the platform edge have a detectable warning. It is important to remember that the NPRM never raised the issue of whether detectable warnings should be installed on rail platform edges, only the issue of when installation should be completed. Reasonably possible . The Department encourages rail operators to install detectable warnings before the required date. (2) The requesting party shall provide the following information with its request:(i) Entity name, address, contact person and telephone;(ii) Specific provision of appendix A to this part with which the entity is unable to comply;(iii) Reasons for inability to comply;(iv) Alternative method of compliance, with demonstration of how the alternative meets or exceeds the level of accessibility or usability of the vehicle provided in appendix A to this part; and(v) Documentation of the public participation used in developing an alternative method of compliance.PAGE 2558 FR 63092, *63102(3) In the case of a request by a public entity that provides transportation facilities (including an airport operator), or a request by an air carrier with respect to airport facilities, the required public participation shall include the following:(i) The entity shall contact individuals with disabilities and groups representing them in the community. The availability of seating or securement space is an integral part of accessibility (i.e., having a vehicle that is "readily * * * usable by" an individual with a disability). To the extent that installation of detectable warnings involves an extraordinarily expensive structural change to a particular station, the rail operator could use the cost of the installation as part of its rationale for requesting an extension of time to make the key station accessible. Nine transit agencies and one state or local agency working on disability matters suggested that the final rule require the driver to ask someone sitting in a priority seat to move, or to make good faith efforts to clear the seat, but not to have to enforce the request. 107. Four state or local transportation agencies asked that FTA (or perhaps APTA) publish, in the Federal Register or elsewhere, its approvals of requests for equivalent facilitation, so that other transit authorities would know what products or accommodations were acceptable. A total of 434 commenters opposed the NPRM's proposal, asserting that the existing regulatory provision should be retained. An official website of the United States government Here's how you know. The drop-offs at the edges of rail station platforms create a clear, documented, and unacceptable hazard to persons with visual impairments. The FTA has learned that some manufacturers have been marketing products as "U.S. Government-Approved" or "ADA-Approved." The Department will adopt the proposed provision, which appears workable both to Amtrak and disability community commenters. X The third change would modify the Department's procedures for responding to requests for equivalent facilitation determinations. Another commenter said the Access Board specification for [*63094] detectable warnings should be made more precise, and that the "pathfinder" design had some international acceptance. DREDF also cited ADA legislative history favoring use of lifts by standees, the practices of some transit agencies which allow standees to use lifts, extra costs to paratransit systems if ridership on fixed route systems by standees were limited, and a general concern that ADA regulations' protections should not be weakened. Supervisors should be aware that most technologies we purchase as an accommodation may take awhile for employees to master. 12. Four. As a matter of guidance, we believe it is reasonable that if a passenger with a "hidden" disability wants a driver to ask someone to make room for use of a priority seat, the individual should tell the driver about the disability. The two types of machines are similar enough in the operations that consumers must perform that the same requirements make sense in both contexts. However, this organization did not comment on the NPRM, and there were no comments to the NPRM from any blind or visually impaired individuals or organizations representing them opposing detectable warnings on rail station platform edges. 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. 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 will adopt the proposal, believing that requests by drivers that other passengers move from priority seats will assist in making transportation genuinely accessible for passengers with disabilities. Other key station accessibility requirements, if not covered by a time extension for [*63095] "extraordinarily expensive" changes, must still have been completed by July 26, 1993. One disability community. 2). (The study suggests that frequent cleaning is important.) Webdisabilities who are unable to use the vehicle because the lift does not work. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) changed the name of the former Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) to One commenter said that, if the specifications were changed, existing models of fare vending systems had installed should be grandfathered, so that retrofit was not necessary. Even when Amtrak leases an entire consist from a commuter authority after that date, the consist will necessarily include at least one accessible car, assuming the commuter authority lessor is in compliance with the rule. A lock ( LockA locked padlock ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. (56 FR 45755). 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). (3) In the case of a request by a public entity that provides transportation services subject to the provisions of subpart D of this part, the required public participation shall include the following:(i) The entity shall contact individuals with disabilities and groups representing them in the community. 10 0 obj <> endobj At the same time, the Department was aware that rail operators had expressed a number of concerns about the detectable warnings requirement. (It is our understanding that a number of rail properties have begun this task.) They mentioned numerous cases of persons falling off platforms in various rail systems (18 in a system other than the one mentioned in the NPRM), sometimes resulting in death or injury. If the entity chooses not to allow such individuals to use such a lift, it shall clearly notify consumers of this fact by signage on the exterior of the vehicle (adjacent to and of equivalent size with the accessibility symbol). The comments from the disability community emphasized the safety need for detectable warnings, particularly for blind and visually impaired persons. Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) 13-1803 The commenters who suggested that DOT not make equivalent facilitation determinations are suggesting, in effect, that DOT adopt this approach. Making the requirements effective at the same time made sense, they said, because they relate to an accessible car-station interface. 93-29257 Filed 11-29-93; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4910-62-P-M, Transportation for Individuals with Disabilities --Detectable Warnings, Standees on Lifts, Equivalent Facilitation, Priority Seating, Rail Car Acquisition, United States Department of Transportation, Coordinating Council on Access & Mobility, Low and No-Emission Vehicle Federal Technical Assistance, Federal Register Notices & Rulemaking Documents, National Transit Institute (NTI) Course Offerings. (ii) The entity shall make its proposed request available for public comment before the request is made final or transmitted to DOT. These factors make a persuasive case for not unduly postponing the installation of detectable warning materials that can prevent death, injuries, and narrow escapes of the kind cited in the record. Before the NPRM was issued, Amtrak told DOT staff that this provision is not appropriate in an important situation in which it leases rail cars. Reasonable accommodations create equal access and opportunities in the workplace so that people with disabilities can be productive team players whose unique perspectives promote the development of successful programs. Two manufacturers thought equivalent facilitation should be deleted from the rule altogether. WebThe ADA also outlaws discrimination against individuals with disabilities in State and local government services, public accommodations, transportation and In the NPRM, the Department sought comment on how the proposed Access Board ATM standard modifications would affect automatic fare vending and collection systems. In @ 37.165, paragraph (g) is revised to read as follows:@ 37.165 -- Lift and securement use. These were primarily, but not exclusively, from the blind community. Official websites use .govA .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The uniformity considerations mentioned by commenters will be taken into account in this process. We received this comment from 101 commenters, 80 of whom were disability organizations or individuals with disabilities. The study affirms the excellent detectability of materials meeting Federal standards. In response to the disability group concerns about possible problems detectable warnings may create for people with mobility impairments, the FTA is available to work with rail properties that have installed or are testing detectable warning systems (and users of these systems who have mobility impairments) to determine whether such problems exist and merit any change in the detectable warning requirement. While manufacturers' and consumers' comments assert that cited problems concerning the materials have largely been solved, it is clear that rail operators are not persuaded that their concerns about installation, safety, durability, and maintainability have been fully addressed. 9*H FuE~W*ETZc3: ZVch.Fbu:c _qZv&5RHO3bnK*A2~pwm@)VK8"gB2laaG This will inform passengers that such a request may be made and that they should comply. It is not fair to burden research with the expectation that it will solve all practical problems, which probably are best worked out in actual planning and installation. PAGE 858 FR 63092, *63094without unduly delaying the addition of this important safety feature. It is a way of providing a reasonable sense of security to regulated parties that accessibility modifications they make will comply with ADA requirements. To accommodate this situation, the Department proposed to add a new paragraph to this section, which would allow good faith efforts to be documented in a different way. Section 37.87 of the Department's ADA regulation provides that when Amtrak or a commuter authority purchases or leases or used intercity or commuter rail car, it must either obtain an accessible car or demonstrate the good faith efforts it has made to do so. WebApplicable for audits of financial statements for periods commencing on or after 15 December 2019. 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