12101-12213); 49 U.S.C. The ADA is a nondiscrimination statute, intended to ensure, among other things, that people with disabilities have access to transportation services. Rather, they went to the question of how best. [*63092]SUMMARY: The Department is amending its rules implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in several respects. A transit authority and an "elderly and handicapped" advisory committee sought assurance that transit authorities and advisory committees, respectively, would be part of the public participation process. Rail properties need to begin working now with manufacturers and construction contractors to ensure that materials are installed in the way that best serves everyone's interest in adhesion, durability, and maintainability. The study also noted ongoing efforts at improving detectable warning materials. (ii) The entity shall make its proposed request available for public comment before the request is made final or transmitted to DOT. INDEX. Phone: 202-493-0625. 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. Another transit property also asked for a 5-year delay, while a third suggested making the requirement effective in July 1995, to coincide with the one-car-per-train requirement. WebReasonable Accommodation (request): the act of enabling a qualified individual with a disability to obtain full and equal access to TriMet services, programs or activities The background of this issue is the following: @ 37.165 of the Department's final ADA rule (49 CFR part 37; 56 FR 45584, 45640; September 6, 1991) provides that. The Department believes that, given the safety-related reasons for a detectable warning requirement documented in the rulemaking record, deleting the requirement postponing it indefinitely, or postponing it for a lengthy period (e.g., five years) would be inadvisable. However, nothing in the study suggests that these problems appear insuperable; nor does the study suggest that a prolonged period of time (e.g., five years) is needed for rail operators to solve these problems. Mr. X has Reasonable Cause for Not Filing and Turning Over Form 941 Withholding Taxes. Four rail operators suggested that the 18 months should start to run from the time that FTA or the Access Board completed its research on detectable warnings. The authority citation for 49 CFR part 37 continues to read as follows: Authority: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 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. As such, training is required, and adequate training time should be allowed. 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. Four. The sixth change would modify the good faith efforts that Amtrak and commuter rail operators would have to make in order to lease used rail vehicles. Five commenters (four transit agencies and a manufacturer) said that the purpose and design of fare vending machines were different enough from those of ATMs to warrant a different standard, at least with respect to some specifications. 35 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<219546CA2F0B1B4A956CBC6DFEFAA54F>]/Index[10 48]/Info 9 0 R/Length 119/Prev 123083/Root 11 0 R/Size 58/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream The Act defines a person with a disability to include (1) individuals with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life PAGE 958 FR 63092, *63095standard for detectable warnings may be indicated, the Department is free to propose changes, which can exceed the minimum requirements of the Access Board guidelines. 20590. Part 38 and appendix A to part 37 both contain provisions concerning equivalent facilitation. With the exception noted below, the existing @ 37.165(g)-which requires transportation providers to permit standees to use lifts, without restriction-will remain in effect. Seating spaces may have fold-down or removable seats to accommodate other passengers when a wheelchair or mobility aid user is not occupying the area, provided the seats, when folded up, do not obstruct the clear floor space provided (See Fig. The ADA requires the Department to adopt standards consistent with the Access Board guidelines. (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. These situations, some of which were recounted by fall victims themselves in detail, were in addition to cases in which visually-impaired passengers almost fell off, or had become very fearful of walking on, rail station platforms. WebDocumentation RequirementsInability to obtain reasonable lodging in Texas. The first change would extend until July 1994 the compliance date for retrofitting key rail station platforms with detectable warnings. (4) In all signage designating priority seating areas for elderly persons and persons with disabilities, or designating wheelchair securement areas, the entity shall include language informing persons sitting in these locations that they should comply with requests by transit provider personnel to vacate their seats to make room for an individual with a disability. The explanatory appendix to part 37 made the following comment on the regulatory requirement: [*63096]. The second was the. 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. Phone: 202-366-6242, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE In none of these cases did the platform edge have a detectable warning. 4 Transportation barriers This means, of course, that detectable warnings were to be in place by that date. If the technical standard changes at this or any future point, the Department could, in appropriate situations, apply the grandfathering provision in the Department's ADA rule (49 CFR 37.9) to avoid making rail operators re-install detectable warnings meeting the revised standard. Documentation Requirements. A disability community commenter suggested that if a passenger decided using a lift was too dangerous, that passenger should be eligible for paratransit. Only one commenter, a person with a disability, opposed the proposal, saying it could cause litigation and a backlash against disabled riders. _@b'^\481FqTK9jri0TO*5P5NUB19@u$.c[w(e- OTHER ACCEPTABLE DISABILITY-RELATED INQUIRIES AND MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS OF EMPLOYEES. Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the "ADA") (1) limits an employer's ability to make disability-related inquiries or require medical examinations at three stages: pre-offer, post-offer, and during 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. 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. Liz has low vision and uses assistive technologies to assist her with the essential functions of her job in the Office of Human Resources. It said that while new products have been developed, they have not yet been independently tested. Five requested that handrails be retrofitted on existing lifts, and one commenter opposed this idea. Lifts meeting Access Board standards will have handrails. Safety railings on platforms, while perhaps useful for safety of visually impaired passengers, could create crowding and obstacles for other passengers, and might not be practical given that train doors do not always stop at the same point on a platform. Under appendix A of part 37, which adopts as part of a DOT regulation the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) guidelines for accessible facilities, sections 10.3.1 and 10.3.2, require that an accessible rail station have a 24-inch wide detectable warning strip running the entire length of the platform edge. 4. 9*H FuE~W*ETZc3: ZVch.Fbu:c _qZv&5RHO3bnK*A2~pwm@)VK8"gB2laaG Washington, DC 20590 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. The existing rule's one car per train requirement applies, after July 1995, both to Amtrak and the commuter authorities involved. Making the requirements effective at the same time made sense, they said, because they relate to an accessible car-station interface. 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. We expect economic impacts to be minimal, so we have not prepared a regulatory evaluation. Technology and product differentiation in the detectable warnings field does not stand still, and equivalent facilitation is an appropriate means to recognize evolution and innovation in these products. DRC staff will talk with the employee and the supervisor to understand the scope of the job and to find effective solutions. Seventeen commenters supported restricting the access of standees to lifts. Nine commenters supported the NPRM proposal to adopt the Access [*63101] Board proposed amendment for ATMs, which would also apply to fare vending systems. A number mentioned the crowded, noisy, distracting atmosphere of rush hour train stations as being a situation in which a tactile cue like a detectable warning is particularly important. The FTA has learned that some manufacturers have been marketing products as "U.S. Government-Approved" or "ADA-Approved." This is important, among other reasons, because based on the premise that standees can use lifts, the Access Board found it unnecessary to establish a standard for stair riser heights in vehicles that use lifts. One rail operator cited a 1991 study performed by a consultant for DOT that noted a number of problems that had occurred in early installations of detectable warnings. [Q]%hMT!K*ULV}2[xxLs?QE|d7:.tY?_OOj|VZ>qVQpr~Ve_'9cW|}p3.2nOgO?>tizQx;9/8}-ceyXOfuZUZ7Glaq+_TRJb:$96 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. 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). Virtually all commenters supported the proposal, agreeing with the rationale articulated above. Requirements by transportation providers that passengers use a particular accommodation are also inappropriate under the ADA. 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