Published in the Federal Register October 20, 1999
AGENCY: Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board.
ACTION: Notice of appointment of advisory committee members and date of first meeting.
SUMMARY: The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) has decided to establish an advisory committee to assist it in developing a proposed rule on accessibility guidelines for newly constructed and altered public rights-of-way covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. The Public Rights-of-Way Access Advisory Committee (Committee) includes organizations which represent the interests affected by the accessibility guidelines for public rights-of-way. This notice also announces the times and location of the first Committee meeting, which will be open to the public.
DATES: The first meeting of the Committee is scheduled for December 2 and 3, 1999, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. each day.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in the 3rd floor training room at 1331 F Street, NW., Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Windley, Office of Technical and Information Services, Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, 1331 F Street, NW., suite 1000, Washington, DC, 20004-1111. Telephone number (202) 272-5434 extension 125 (Voice); (202) 272-5449 (TTY). E-mail windley@access-board.gov. This document is available in alternate formats (cassette tape, Braille, large print, or computer disk) upon request. This document is also available on the Board's Internet Site (http://www.access-board.gov/notices/prowapt.htm).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 12, 1999, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) published a notice of intent to establish an advisory committee to provide recommendations for developing a proposed rule addressing accessibility guidelines for newly constructed and altered public rights-of-way covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968. 64 FR 43980 (August 12, 1999).
The notice identified the interests that are likely to be significantly affected by the accessibility guidelines: Federal agencies; design professional organizations; transportation and traffic engineering institutes, departments, and organizations; State and local government public works and transportation agencies; pedestrian and bicycle organizations; standard setting organizations; organizations representing the access needs of individuals with disabilities; and other persons affected by the accessibility guidelines.
Over 65 nominations were submitted. Approximately 20 nominations were received from organizations representing persons with disabilities. About 10 other nominations were received from individuals (or family members of) persons with disabilities. The remaining nominations primarily consisted of organizations representing the transportation, design, and engineering industry which includes some State and local government departments of transportation.
For the reasons stated in the notice of intent, the Access Board has determined that establishing the Public Rights-of-Way Access Advisory Committee (Committee) is necessary and in the public interest. The Access Board has appointed 29 members to the Committee from the following organizations:
The Access Board regrets being unable to accommodate all requests for membership on the Committee. In order to keep the Committee to a size that can be effective, it was necessary to limit membership. It is also desirable to have balance among members of the Committee representing different clusters of interest, such as disability organizations and the transportation industry. The Committee membership identified above provides representation for each interest affected by issues to be discussed.
Committee meetings will be open to the public and interested persons can attend the meetings and communicate their views. Members of the public will have an opportunity to address the Committee on issues of interest to them and the Committee. Members of groups or individuals who are not members of the Committee may also have the opportunity to participate with subcommittees of the Committee. The Access Board believes that participation of this kind can be very valuable for the advisory committee process. Additionally, all interested persons will have the opportunity to comment when the proposed accessibility guidelines for public rights-of-way are issued in the Federal Register by the Access Board.
The meeting will be held at a site accessible to individuals with disabilities. Individuals who require sign language interpreters or real-time captioning systems should contact Scott Windley by November 12, 1999. Decisions with respect to future meetings will be made at the first meeting. Notices of future meetings will be published in the Federal Register.
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Lawrence W. Roffee,
Executive Director.