Alex Ariniello
|
October 25, 2002 |
Re: Response to Draft
Guidelines on Accessible public rights-of-way
Dear Mr. Windley:
I am writing this letter to express the position of the Institute of
Transportation Engineers (ITE) Colorado-Wyoming Section regarding the Draft
Guidelines on Accessible public rights-of-way proposed by the United States
Access Board. Our ITE Section possesses a membership of approximately 400
transportation professionals who practice in both the public and private
sectors. In total, more than 15,000 transportation professionals across the
world are members of ITE.
As a Section, we wish to express our support for the
comments expressed by Daniel E. Centa, P.E. in his letter submitted to
the Access Board on behalf of the City of Pueblo, Colorado dated August 20,
2002. The detailed response presented by Mr. Centa, a member of our Section,
encapsulates the position of our membership at-large when he writes the
following (p.1):
“It is our firm commitment to provide for pedestrian accommodations to the
maximum extent possible when building facilities within the right-of-way. We
agree with the need to standardize designs and provide for more consistent
pedestrian systems. However, our caution is there may be significant unintended
consequences with many of the suggestions coming from the access board.”
His letter continues to enumerate specific comments regarding numerous points
within the Draft Guidelines.
In addition to the text of Mr. Centa’s letter, we wish to submit the following
additional comments for your consideration:
1. The requirements outlined in the Draft Guidelines will have significant
financial impacts that may prove unfair to local jurisdictions.
2. Several Guidelines cover areas that are already specified in the Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices, creating conflicting standards.
3. Several areas are addressed with broad mandates which could result in
counterproductive and ineffective implementations at the community level.
We believe that our members are committed to planning and constructing public
access that most effectively meets the needs of the population. Members of our
Section have exhibited a consistent commitment to building transportation
projects that further the access needs of the entire population. It is with this
history and continued interest that we respectfully submit our position on the
Draft Guidelines.
This matter was discussed with our membership at our Section meeting on October
25, 2002 attended by 60 of our members. All those present unanimously supported
the position included in this letter.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Draft guidelines. We look
forward to participating with you in the ongoing endeavor to provide accessible
public rights-of-way.
Sincerely,
ITE Colorado / Wyoming Section
Alex Ariniello
President