Roadway curbs can be an insurmountable barrier for people with physical impairments.
Curbs make sidewalk travel difficult and dangerous for anyone using mobility aids,
especially for a person in a wheelchair. Pedestrians need accessible routes in the public right-of-way,
and laws require agencies to provide these routes.
Federal laws requiring provisions for equal access for people with disabilities have been
in effect for decades. The 1968 Architectural Barriers Act, the 1973 Rehabilitation Act,
the 1988 amendment to the Civil Rights Act, and the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act,
or ADA, have helped provide equal opportunity to safe and accessible transportation systems.
The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability
in: employment, government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation.
Title II of the ADA applies to all public entities, including all State
departments of transportation and local public agencies within the United States and its
territories.
Despite laws to provide accessible routes, pedestrians still face physical barriers to
safe travel. Old roadways have not been improved, and even newer facilities may not include
fully accessible routes.
Accessibility laws and guidance require the installation of curb ramps or other modifications
when a project alters a roadway. An alteration is a change that affects or could affect the
usability of all or a part of a building or a facility. Alteration of roadways may include
reconstruction, rehabilitation, and the widening of streets.
The United States Court of Appeals ruled in Kinney v. Yerusalim in 1993 that roadway pavement
resurfacing constituted an alteration and that the installation of curb ramps is within
the scope of such a project.
Resurfacing projects are not always simple asphalt overlays. Micro-surfacing, in-place
asphalt recycling, and cape seals are resurfacing treatments that trigger the ADA requirements
for curb ramp accessibility.
Maintenance activities to keep facilities in good repair do not require accessibility modifications.
Examples of pavement maintenance treatments are chip seals, crack filling,
and pavement patching.
The United States Access Board provides standards and guidelines with the technical requirements
for accessible pedestrian facilities. Curb ramp location, size, shape and detectable
warning surfaces are critical details.
A curb ramp must be built in accordance with the standards to the maximum extent technically
or physically feasible. Sometimes curb ramps cannot be fully compliant because of existing
infrastructure, terrain characteristics, or environmentally sensitive areas. Agencies
must document deviations from the standards, including the reasons why full compliance
is not feasible.
Another challenge is that constructing proper curb ramps may add time and increase the cost
of a resurfacing project. Good planning can mitigate the additional time and resources
required for ADA compliance.
One example of a community actively managing projects to meet the ADA requirements is the
City of Auburn Plains. Auburn Plains planned a series of contracts for asphalt resurfacing
of several streets.
To meet ADA requirements, Auburn Plains needed to install curb ramps.
The city had two options: it could include the curb ramps in the resurfacing contracts
or issue a separate contract just for the installation of curb ramps. The city decided
to issue a separate contract to a company with curb ramp installation expertise. By
issuing a separate contract before the resurfacing project, the city was able to design and install
curb ramps without affecting the primary work of resurfacing. The city received a better
price and a better product.
The Americans with Disabilities Act and other nondiscrimination authorities require accessible
routes for pedestrians in the public right-of-way. If your project alters a roadway, including
the various forms of resurfacing, you are required to provide accessible curb ramps.
For more information about resurfacing projects ADA compliance, contact your state DOT or
the FHWA Division Office.