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. The case of installing detectable warnings sooner, rather than later, is made stronger by three publicly reported deaths of visually impaired passengers in the time since the comment period for this rulemaking closed, of which the. Inability to obtain reasonable lodging in Texas. All of these, in PTSB's view, present clear safety hazards to standees. It said that while new products have been developed, they have not yet been independently tested. For safety and liability reasons, they would prefer not to carry standees on such lifts. A disability community commenter objected to the "to the extent practicable" clause for rail systems. The Department can also attempt to assist in obtaining disability group input. (ii) The entity shall make its proposed request available for public comment before the request is made final or transmitted to DOT. 20590. United States, Email: drc@dot.gov From a transportation policy point of view, requiring materials to be installed without providing a reasonable amount of time for rail operators to resolve these very practical issues could be counterproductive. While it need not be part of this rule, the Department will take appropriate steps to provide general notice of these decisions. 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 qualifications are that, in the situations studied, both drivers [*63097] and standee users were trained in the proper use of lifts, handrails were available on the lifts, and operators were not required to transport a standee who refused to use the handrail. Five transit agencies noted that they provided lift service to standees without significant problems. 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. The Department is free to consider safety or reliability information that may be developed by the Access Board as it reviews detectable warnings. WebStatement regarding reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act generally apply to requests for reasonable accommodations to rules, policies, practices, and The existing rule's one car per train requirement applies, after July 1995, both to Amtrak and the commuter authorities involved. 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. 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. 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. 12101-12213); 49 U.S.C. 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. Entities shall not cite these determinations as indicating that a products or methods constitute equivalent facilitations in situations other than those to which the determinations specifically pertain. 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. WebIf the auditor believes that the financial statements are notfairly stated or is unable to reach a conclusion because of insufficient evidence, the auditor A) should withdraw from the engagement. DOT is committed to maintaining public safety while providing maximum flexibility to allow transportation industries to conduct their operations safely and 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. Among other comments on this subject, one of the rail operators mentioned above thought that the postponement should apply to new and altered platforms as well as those being retrofitted. DOT staff were also contacted by a disability group representative who believes that standees should be accommodated on all lifts. If there are conductors or other transit personnel present in the passenger compartments, they would make the request when they saw a situation calling for it. At the same time, as a matter of policy, the Department will scrutinize closely applications for equivalent facilitation. Any such use of these letters, or reliance on these letters in marketing materials, is unauthorized, and potential customers for these products should disregard claims of this kind. WebHome / Uncategorized / statement regarding inability to obtain reasonable transportation. 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. 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. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. 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. The rule would not impose a uniform procedure; each transit system may devise a means best suited to its operations to carry out the requirement. Nevertheless, the Department said that rail operators may have legitimate concerns about the installation of detectable warning materials as they retrofit key stations for accessibility. 4 Transportation barriers 3 Children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than children without disabilities. The Department is aware that the Access Board (along with the Department of Justice and Department of Transportation) proposed to suspend, until January 1995, the requirement for detectable warnings in contexts such as curb ramps and parking lots, with the expectation of conducting further research. The one exception concerns the EEC, Inc. "arcing" lift cited in the New York PTSB comment. 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. 57 0 obj <>stream Consequently, the rule gives equivalent facilitation authority to the FTA and FRA Administrators. This issue is a difficult one, because the comments favoring and opposing the proposed 18-month delay both make reasonable and persuasive points. At the same time, the Department was aware that rail operators had expressed a number of concerns about the detectable warnings requirement. 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 Webstatement regarding inability to obtain reasonable transportation An Audio Repository of Nusach & Nigunim According to the Ashkenaz Tradition countdown Timer Expired. The Department would apply 49 CFR 37.9, concerning grandfathering, to fare vending systems that meet the current ADA standard in the same way as that section applies to other features of transportation facilities. 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. The warning must be of a contrasting color (i.e., dark vs. light) and texture (i.e., truncated domes vs. smooth surface), as well as (in the case of interior surfaces) differing from the platform in resiliency and sound-on-cane contact. The first change would extend until July 1994 the compliance date for retrofitting key rail station platforms with detectable warnings. These commenters, while making clear their concern about safety, did not present any data or anecdotal information that would demonstrate that an actual safety problem existed. (Deletion or indefinite suspension, in any case, would appear to exceed the scope of the notice for this rulemaking.) We believe that a reasonable balance is best achieved, in this case, by allowing transit authorities a limited period of time to resolve practical problems concerning detectable warnings. @ 38.113 -- [Amended] 11. The extension we have provided in this rule should be adequate to permit an aggressive effort by rail properties to address successfully practical concerns about installation. (5) A determination of compliance will be made by the Administrator of the concerned operating administration on a case-by-case basis, with the concurrence of the Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs.PAGE 2458 FR 63092, *63102(6) Determinations of equivalent facilitation are made only with respect to vehicles or vehicle components used in the provision of transportation services covered by subpart D or subpart E of this part, and pertain only to the specific situation concerning which the determination is made. Fourteen commenters supported the NPRM provision as drafted. 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. In an audit, your CPA is required to obtain an understanding of your businesss internal control and assess fraud risk. 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. Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, managers and supervisors are required to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified Federal employees and applicants. * * * * *. 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. The latter group of commenters said that, in a vehicle that did not meet part 38 standards, there were safety concerns relating to door height, smoothness of operation etc. 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). Other firms claim that their products comply, even though the products differ from those diagrams which were submitted to FTA. Detectable warnings can prevent that last mistaken step. Consultation with these individuals and groups shall take place at all stages of the development of the request for equivalent facilitation. The ADA is a nondiscrimination statute, intended to ensure, among other things, that people with disabilities have access to transportation services. EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective December 30, 1993. _@b'^\481FqTK9jri0TO*5P5NUB19@u$.c[w(e- 10. The NPRM also noted that the Department's concerns did not relate to the cost of installing detectable warnings in key stations. If, as the result of research the Department is conducting, or further research or determinations by the Access Board, some change in the technical. In the preamble to the final rule, the Department made the following comments on the origin of this provision: PAGE 1058 FR 63092, *63095In the NPRM, the Department neglected to discuss the use of lifts by standees, an oversight that was brought to our attention by a substantial number of disability community commenters. 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