P.O. Box 10210
Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830
Tel: 407-566-3513
Fax: 407-566-7489
Thomas M. McAlpin
President
Disney Cruise Line
December 29, 2004
Lawrence W. Roffee, Executive Director
U.S. Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20004-1111
Re: Fed. Reg. Vol. 69 No. 27 Page 69224
Docket No. 2004-1
Americans With Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Passenger Vessels: Large Vessels
Availability of draft guidelines: notice of hearing
And
Docket No. 2004-2
Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines for Passenger Vessels: Small Vessels
Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: notice of hearing
Dear Mr. Roffee:
This is to request that the hearing scheduled for January 10, 2005 regarding the above-referenced subjects be re-scheduled to a later date. Since the proposed guidelines were only released on November 26, we do not feel we have adequate time for review. If we are given m ore time to accomplish this, we believe we can provide the U.S. Access Board with comments that will be both meaningful and helpful as the rule-making process progresses.
Unlike land-based facilities such as hotels and buses used in public transportation, passenger vessels are subject to a host of safety related maritime regulations set out by the U.S. Coast Guard and international treaties. Obviously, this creates the need for a thorough analysis of the Interplay between these maritime regulations and the proposed guidelines.
In addition, we also request an extension to the ending date for the submission of comments to the draft guidelines which is currently March 28, 2005.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Thomas M. McAlpin