APWA Florida Chapter 2019 Expo Technical Presentation ADA Curb Ramps Resurfacing II, Troy McCain, Lakeland, FL

1. Troy McCain Troy Williams
Pavement Coordinator Inspector
City of Lakeland City of Lakeland

2. Information, materials, are intended solely as informal guidance,
and are neither a determination of your legal rights or
responsibilities under the ADA, nor binding on any agency with
enforcement responsibility under the ADA.
The City of Lakeland and American Public Works Association is
providing information, to entities that are covered by the ADA.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aides...

3. Agenda
• Review ADA regulations of curb ramps in
regards to resurfacing roadways
• Briefly Review 2013 along with 2015
supplement
• Lakelands previous approach 2016
• Discuss issues faced while replacing ramps
• Discuss transition plan requirements
• Lakeland’s approach moving forward 2019

4. According to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:
About 56.7 million people — 19 percent of the population — had a
disability
About 8.1 million people had difficulty seeing, including 2.0
million who were blind or unable to see.
About 7.6 million people experienced difficulty hearing. About 5.6
million used a hearing aid.
About 19.9 million people had difficulty lifting and grasping.
Up to 3%- or almost 200 million people - of the world’s
population have cognitive disabilities.

5. In 1992, the U.S. Department of Justice issued 28 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR)
Part 35, Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local
Government Services, to
implement Subtitle A of Title II of the ADA
 All activities of state and local governments, including those that
do not receive federal financial assistance. The regulation also
incorporated specific rulings to address provisions in Titles I, III,
and V of the ADA.
 Another provision in the regulation, 28 CFR 35.151, included the
following requirements regarding new construction and
alterations:
 A provision in the regulation, 28 CFR 35.150(d), included a
requirement for state and local agencies to prepare a transition
plan. More on that later…..

6. Objectives
• How did we get here
• Review technical bulletins 2013/2015 in
regards to adjacent ADA curb ramps and
sidewalk during resurfacing (alterations) of
roadways.
• General discussion of building a new ramp.
• General discussion of Sidewalks
• Actions that the City of Lakeland is taking to
comply with ADA /Transition Plan rules
1990 Americans with Disabilities
Act
1990 - ADA Standards for
Accessible Standards Design
1991 - ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG)
2002 - Draft Proposed Rights-of-Way Accessibility
Guidelines (PROWAG)
2005 - Revised Draft Proposed Rights-of-Way
Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG)
2010 - DOJ Adopts New ADA/ABA (Access Board) Standards
2011 - Proposed Guidelines for Public Rights-of-Way
2013 – Proposed Supplements to PROWAG and
2015 – Supplemental Questions and Answers to 2013

7. American with Disabilities is more than
25 years old.
• In 2010, Federal Agencies took a closer look at
compliance issues.
• Department of Justice created a program
called “Project Civic Access”
• Ensure that title II entities come into
compliance.
• Major component is having a Transition Plan

8. ALTERATIONS VS. MAINTENANCE
OLD GUIDANCE
 Prior USDOJ guidance stated the following:
 Paving, repaving, or resurfacing were
generally considered alterations
 Filling a pothole was not considered to be an
alteration
 Prior USDOJ guidance did not provide specific
examples of maintenance activities

9. ALTERATIONS VS. MAINTENANCE
OLD GUIDANCE - ALTERATION
 Prior USDOT(FHWA) guidance from September
2006 stated:
“An alteration is a change to a facility in the public right-of-way that
affects or could affect access, circulation, or use. Projects altering
the use of the public right-of-way must incorporate pedestrian
access improvements within the scope of the project to meet the
requirements of the ADA and Section 504. These projects have the
potential to affect the structure, grade, or use of the roadway.
Alterations include items such as reconstruction, major
rehabilitation, widening, resurfacing (e.g. structural overlays and
mill and fill), signal installation and upgrades, and projects of
similar scale and effect.”

10. ALTERATIONS VS. MAINTENANCE OLD
GUIDANCE
 Different ways of defining alterations between
USDOJ and USDOT created:
 Confusion in application
 Inconsistency in enforcement
 Many questions
 Difference in opinion between Federal
Agencies (copy of letter)
 “The Department is deeply concerned that FHWA’s position on asphalt
overlays of less than 1.5 inches directly conflicts with Department’s legal
interpretation” for alteration

11. July 2013
Alteration vs. Maintenance
• U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE/U.S.
DEPARTMENTOF TRANSPORTATION
• (FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION) JOINT
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
• ON RESURFACING PROJECTS
• Applies to all public roadways, whether federally
funded or not, regardless of ownership

12. BRIEFINGMEMO
SUBJECT: DepartmentofJustice/DepartmentofTransportationJointTechnical
AssistanceonTitleIIoftheAmericanswithDisabilitiesActRequirementstoProvide
CurbRampswhenStreets,Roads,orHighwaysareAlteredthroughResurfacing
ISSUE: Throughoutthenation,therearedifferentinterpretationsandinconsistenciesin
enforcementofwhencurbrampsarerequired.
ADA Maintenance ADA Alterations
CrackFillingandSealing
SurfaceSealing
ChipSeals
SlurrySeals
FogSeals
ScrubSealing
JointCrackSeals
Jointrepairs
DowelBarRetrofit
SpotHigh-FrictionTreatments
DiamondGrinding
PavementPatching
Open-gradedSurfaceCourse
CapeSeals
Mill&Fill/Mill&Overlay
HotIn-PlaceRecycling
Microsurfacing/ThinLift
Overlay
AdditionofNewLayerof
Asphalt
AsphaltandConcrete
Rehabilitationand
Reconstruction
NewConstruction

13. Joint DOJ/DOT (FHWA)Technical Assistance
Joint Technical Assistance
 Distinguishes alterations from maintenance based on the type of road
treatment:
Chip Seals Fog Seals Scrub Sealing
Crack Filling and Sealing Joint Crack Seals Slurry Seals
Diamond Grinding Joint repairs Spot High-Friction Treatments
Dowel Bar Retrofit Pavement Patching Surface Sealing
Addition of New Layer of Asphalt Mill & Fill / Mill & Overlay
Cape Seals New Construction
Hot In-Place Recycling Open-graded Surface Course
Microsurfacing / Thin-Lift Overlay Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

14. 2013

15. 2013 cont…
• Because resurfacing of streets constitutes an
alteration under the ADA, it triggers the
obligation to provide curb ramps (2010
standard) where pedestrian walkways
intersect the resurfaced streets.
• See Kinney v. Yerusalim, 9 F 3d 1067 (3rd Cir.
1993).

16. 2013 cont..
• An important part of this requirement is the
obligation whenever streets, roadways, or
highways are altered to provide curb ramps
where street level pedestrian walkways cross
curbs. This requirement is intended to ensure
the accessibility and usability of the
pedestrian walkway for persons with
disabilities.

17. Comparing 2013 and 2015 Bulletins

18. December 2015 bulletin
• Q1: When a pavement treatment is
considered an alteration under the ADA and
there is a curb ramp at the juncture of the
altered road and an existing sidewalk (or other
prepared surface for pedestrian use), but the
curb ramp does not meet the current ADA
Standards, does the curb ramp have to be
updated to meet the current ADA Standards at
the time of the pavement treatment?

19. 2015 cont..
• Answer (A1): It depends on whether the
existing curb ramp meets the appropriate
accessibility standard that was in place at the
time it was newly constructed or last altered

20. 2015 cont…
• As a result of this “safe harbor” provision, if a
curb ramp was built or altered prior to March
15, 2012, and complies with the requirements
for curb ramps in either the 1991 ADA
Standards for Accessible Design (1991
Standards, known prior to 2010 as the 1991
ADA Accessibility Guidelines, or the 1991
ADAAG) or UFAS, it does not have to be
modified to comply with the requirements in
the 2010 Standards

21. Similarities 1991 and 2010
• In order to field verify that a curb ramp is compliant to the 1991 standard,
evaluate the following criteria:
• Running Slope
• The maximum slope of a ramp run shall not exceed 1:12 (8.3%). This
standard applies to both the 1991 and to current standards.
• Counter Slope
• The maximum slope of adjoining gutters, road surface immediately
adjacent to the curb ramp, or accessible route shall not exceed 1:20 (5%).
This standard applies to both the 1991 and to current standards.
• If all other criteria meet the 1991 standard, but the existing counter slope
exceeds 5%, and the resurfaced road will result in meeting the standard,
this criterion alone does not trigger the requirement to upgrade the ramp,
because it would be 1991 compliant without performing any work on the
ramp.
• Cross Slope
• Nowhere shall the cross slope of an accessible route exceed 1:50 (2%). This
standard applies to both the 1991 and to current standards.

22. Differences between 1991 and 2010
• Clear Widths 1991 36” ____ 2010 48”
• No turning space or level landing
requirement existed for curb ramps in the
1991 .
• FDOT LAP Projects: Exception

23. Access
Board
Confused?

24. Confusion???
• For most municipalities, there is
confusion between the intent of
the ADA, as a civil rights law, and
various related design guidelines
such as UFAS, ADAAG, PROWAG,
FDOT, and DOJ standards.

25. Many agencies simply built ramps where there
were no sidewalks

26. Ramps to nowhere…

27. But the plans said…

28. Altered On or after March 15, 2012 2010 Standards
• City of Lakeland 2016 looked at above date
and began looking at prior years resurfacing
programs. Based on 2015 Q&A
• Utilized the PROWAAG requirements for
ramps.
• Stopped all planned resurfacing until ramps
along previous resurfacing were brought up to
new standards
• Utilized GIS to identify ramps adjacent to
resurfaced roads.

29. ADA 2010 (PROWAG) some of requirements
• Clear Width
• The curb ramp must be clear of obstacles within the required
clear width of 48 inches. This clear width applies to the
pedestrian access route within the ramp, which includes the
ramp run, exclusive of flared sides.
• Detectable Warning Surface
• Curb ramps shall have a detectable warning surface consisting
of truncated domes extending along the full width of the curb
ramp.
• Turning Space or Level Landing
• A minimum 4’ x 4’ turning space shall be provided at the top or
bottom of a parallel curb ramp or the top of a perpendicular
curb ramp. If the turning space is constrained on 2 or more
sides, the turning space shall be 4’ x 5’. The 5’ dimension is in
the direction of the street crossing.
• The maximum slope of the turning space is 2%

30. Action steps Lakeland (2016)
• Created a checklist to determine if existing ramps
along previous resurfacing met 2010 compliant.
• Initially had engineer go out with form contained
within an Ipad.
• Once determination was made to replace
contract was put in place to begin rebuilding
ramps
• Learning process between divisions as well as
contractor. What is best way to build

31. What division has final say of design??
Engineering/Maintenance

32. Developed a Ramp checklist

33. Sidewalks Prior to 2015
• On January 22, 2004, in the case of
Barden v. Sacramento, the 9th Circuit
Court ruled that sidewalks were a
“program” under ADA and must be made
accessible to persons with disabilities
• Previously only curb ramps were looked at
during projects.

34. December 2015 Brief
• Q8: If an existing curb ramp is replaced as part
of a resurfacing alteration, is there an
obligation to address existing obstacles on the
adjacent sidewalk at the same time?

35. December 2015
• A8: No. The Joint Technical Assistance addresses
those requirements that are triggered when a
public entity alters a roadway where the roadway
intersects a street level pedestrian walkway (28
CFR 35.151(i)). Public entities are required to
address other barriers on existing sidewalks, such
as steep cross slopes or obstructions, as part of
their on-going program access and transition
plan obligations under title II of the ADA and
Section 504 and in response to requests for
reasonable modifications under the ADA or
reasonable accommodations under Section 504.
See 28 CFR 35.105, 35.130(b)(7), and 35.150(d);
see also 49 CFR 27.7(e), 27.11(c)(2).

36. Lakeland’ approach going
Forward with all alterations of
roadways will be to bring all ramps
up to 2010 standards.

37. Florida Department of Transportation
ADA/Accessibility Program
ADA Q&A – Introduction

39. LAKELANDS PHASED APPROACH TO EXISTING RAMPS
• Include returns and intersections where
previously we did not when containing ramps
• Review and Identify existing ramps.
• Confirm they do not meet 2010 standards
• Replace existing ramps and sidewalk at ramp
where needed.
• Create temporary wedges with asphalt until
resurfacing is complete.
• Capture data with work management/GIS
program.
• Other not so common situations

40. City of Lakeland 2016
• Currently have GIS database of all ramps
• 2019 Ramps are in work management program
• Those ramps within resurfacing, will be documented as
part of asset of ramp feature if they met 1991
specifications. (Yes/No)
• 2019 replace all ramps adjacent to roadway
• If not brought up to 2010 standards these ramps will
need to be addressed in transition plan.
• 2019 transition plan will address sidewalks and make
statement to replace ramps during resurfacing

41. City of Lakeland Concerns moving
forward 2016
• Who performs inspections of over 4,000 ramps??
(Surveyors, Inspectors, Trades workers
Contractor?) 2019 Contractors
• How to get data into corporate GIS database
(IPad utilizing ArcGIS online?) 2019 Updates in
Work Management Program
• Tracking cost of ADA 2019 Line item in
Transportation budget for ramps

42. ADA SELF-EVALUATION AND TRANSITION PLAN
Lakeland 2019
• Completion of a Self-Evaluation; Lakeland currently
having all sidewalk and ramps evaluated
• Development of an ADA complaint procedure; Done
• Designation of at least one person who is responsible
for overseeing Title II. Created ADA Specialist
• Development of a Transition Plan to schedule the
removal of the barriers uncovered by the Self-
Evaluation process. Currently finalizing plan…

45. Ramps that “touch” alteration

46. Lakeland approach is to do all ramps
within the right of way

53. Other Jurisdictions

55. Obstacles faced
Utilities

57. Adjusting Brick Roads

61. Capturing and recording Data
• Inspectors utilize computer or ipad to record
specific measurements
• Using our work management program that
contains assets
• If compliancy cannot be built, state reason in
comments.

64. Not Common

65. Added Curb Ramp

66. Ramps to nowhere

68. Cost of New Ramps
• 54 (number of ramps built)
• Sidewalk 4” associated with Ramp $5,568
• ADA Ramp 6” $74,263
• Brick Repair (Crosswalks etc.) $699.00
• Domes $25,988
• Asphalt Repair (COL Crews) $17,087
• Total $123,605

69. Where is funding coming from?

70. Authority Agencies
• The Department of Justice (DOJ) has rulemaking
authority and enforcement responsibility for Title
II
• DOJ’s and DOT’s (FDOT) ADA Standards
constitute design and construction requirements
issued under a civil rights law.
• Entities covered by the law ultimately are
responsible for ensuring compliance with the
ADA Standards in new construction and
alterations.

71. Litigation Avoidance
• Chicago agrees to Pay Largest ADA Curb Ramp
Settlement Ever -- $50,000,000 in New Money (5
years)
• Caltrans settles lawsuit over disabled access -
The agency proposes to spend $1.1 billion to ease
use of sidewalks, crosswalks and park-and-ride
facilities. (30 years)
• Penn DOT ramping up efforts on curb cuts -
Lawsuits prompt budgeting of $820 million to
improve access for disabled (10 years)

72. Litigation Avoidance
(closer to home)
• Justice Department Reaches Settlement
Agreement with City of Jacksonville, Fla., to
Ensure Civic Access for People with
Disabilities
• Justice Department agreement between
United States of America and City of Fort
Myers under the American with Disabilities
Act DJ:204-17M-413

73. Best defense to ADA complaint is
compliance with the law
• Sidewalks and curb ramps can cause safety
concerns under the best of circumstances
• agencies must be vigilant in inspecting and
maintaining their property
• take steps to improve the safety of the system
whenever the opportunity presents itself

74. ADA
Complianc
e Training
Basic ADA Requirements
Surface - SSttaabbllee,, Firm & Slip RReessiissttaanntt
Designing Pedestrian Facilities for Accessibility

75. ADA
Complianc
e Training
Basic ADA Requirements
• Detectable Warning Surface (DWS)
What is a DWS?
Raised truncated domes in
a rectangular array.
Where do you place them?
Placed across the bottom of
the curb ramp.
What exactly do they do?
Aid those visually impaired
to identify the end of the
ramp.
DWS = Stop
guidance does not specify a particular color but requires the detectable warning to
be a color that contrasts with the sidewalk---light on dark or dark on light
Designing Pedestrian Facilities for Accessibility

76. ADA
Complianc
e Training
Basic ADA Requirements
Elevation
Differences
¼”Max
” max
Unexpected vertical drops or vertical
rises in grade within the pedestrian path
can cause falls and wheelchairs to
bottom out.
Designing Pedestrian Facilities for Accessibility

77. Title II of the ADA requires public entities to
maintain equipment and features of facilities
to ensure accessibility to individuals with
disabilities.

78. ADA Law Requires
• Existing facilities that have not been altered,
shall not deny access to persons with disabilities
The absence of a
curb ramp denies
access to the
existing sidewalk.

79. Best Practice going forward
• ADA/ Sidewalk complaints seem to be fairly
commonplace
• frequently be resolved without the need for
costly litigation.
• The best defense to an ADA complaint is
compliance with the law.
• Maintain and keep you transitions plans fluid

80. Documents Available Online at
www.access-board.gov
• Proposed Guidelines for Public Rights-of-Way
• Accessible Public Rights-of-Way: Planning and
Designing for Alterations
• Accessible Sidewalks (DVD)
• Detectable Warnings Update
• Manufacturers of Detectable Warning Products
• Research Reports

82. QUESTIONS?