"We believe our partnership with the ADAAG Review Advisory Committee has been one of the outstanding high points of the last several years," said Heumann, who accepted the award on behalf of the Board. "Thanks to the work of this committee , we have taken the first major step in the revision of accessibility guidelines that are at the heart of the Americans with Disabilities Act ...and have created a true partnership with people who develop the nation's building codes; people who own, mana ge, and design buildings; and people who need access to those buildings."
The ADAAG Review Advisory Committee was convened in September 1994, when the Board put out a request for participation from the public in reviewing ADAAG. Twenty two organizations, representing the interests of the design and construction industry, the b uilding code industry, State and local government, and people with disabilities, make up the committee.
Specifically, the committee was asked to develop recommendations to the Access Board for updating ADAAG. In developing their recommendations, the committee was also to ensure that the revised ADAAG would take into account changes in technology, remain i n step with national standards and model codes, and continue to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
At the Access Board meeting on July 10, the committee chair and chairs of each of the group's five subcommittees presented their progress to date. At present, all technical work has been completed, and the editorial subcommittee, headed by Lawrence G. Pe rry, AIA, Building Owners and Managers Association, has begun the process of putting their recommendations into a new format which will more closely resemble State and local building codes. In addition, the committee worked closely with the ANSI A.117 c ommittee to coordinate efforts so that the two documents are more closely aligned with one another.
While the committee's final report is not due until September of this year, the committee's chair David Harris, FAIA, who represents the National Institute of Building Sciences, feels optimistic that their recommendations will be met with support by membe rs of the building and disability communities alike. He stresses that the recommendations to be presented will be cost-effective for business, while meeting the needs of people with disabilities.
At the Board meeting on July 10, Harris stated that the proposed changes to ADAAG will "allow the Board to better serve all of its customers--those with disabilities and those without disabilities." In addition, Harris said, the recommended cha nges will "reduce, and in time eliminate, differences between the principal accessibility standards to ease... compliance for designers, contractors, owners, manufacturers, and others."
During the meeting, the technical subcommittee chairs (Marilyn Golden, Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund; Richard A. Vognild, P.E.; Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc.; Brian D. Black, Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association [rep resented by Soy Williams, AIA]; and Shahriar Amiri, Virginia Building and Code Officials Association) also expressed support for what they say will be a strong final product. The recommendations, Amiri told the Board, "will provide flexibility in ac hieving compliance without compromising access."
Effective, cost-saving publi--private partnerships, such as this one, are what the Vice President's Hammer Award is all about. The award itself was named somewhat tongue in cheek, as Vice President Gore's "symbolic answer to the $600 hammer of yest erday's government."
The award was presented to the committee and Board by Bob Stone, Project Director of the National Performance Review. The Access Board, Stone told the audience of building industry professionals, architects and designers, and people with disabilities, &q uot;used common sense in tackling problems with the guidelines. This meant calling in the people who knew, firsthand, the most about access issues, from all sides."
This common sense approach, he continued, has "produced outstanding results," including greater uniformity in standards, increased customer participation in decision-making, greater credibility for the federal government among building industry professionals, and the potential for greater compliance with the ADA.
Come September, the Board should receive a comprehensive set of recommendations that will assist it in its update of ADAAG. For the time being, however, the Board is pleased to have a simple hardware store hammer, tied with a red, white, and blue bow an d framed, on the Access Board's wall. Along with the hammer is a personal note from Vice President Gore. It reads: For the ADAAG Review Advisory Committee and the US Access Board - Thanks for building a government that works better and costs less! A l Gore.
"We are happy to be able to respond to what is clearly a great need for guidelines in this area," stated Vice Chair of the Access Board, S. Craig Kiser. "We look forward to receiving public comments on the proposed rule so that we may move quickly toward a final rule that truly meets the needs of all parties affected."
Since ADAAG was first published in 1991, the Board has received numerous inquiries on how to address access issues in children's facilities. While ADAAG is based on adult dimensions and anthropometrics, the ADA clearly does not intend that a toilet room used only by small children be equipped with fixtures they cannot reach. The same applies to the sinks, fixed tables, and other features found in many classrooms, children's museums, or other children's facilities. Section 2.2 of ADAAG permits equiva lent facilitation (a departure from specific ADAAG requirements where equivalent or greater access and usability can be achieved). In the absence of specific guidelines, most design professionals have used equivalent facilitation and applied "best practices" in order to design facilities that are usable by children with and without disabilities. Others, however, have been hesitant to depart from the ADAAG requirements. Once final, section 15 of ADAAG will alleviate this problem by providing specific guidelines for these facilities.
Included in the NPRM are recommendations for the placement of grab bars, toilet seats, lavatories, and other fixtures in children's' toilet rooms, issues that concern many parents, teachers, and care givers, as well as architects designing children's faci lities. In addition, the proposed guidelines also provide numerous other specifications that will make it easier for children to reach, operate, and use the accessible features of a newly constructed or altered children's facility.
The proposed guidelines also provide a careful balance between usability by children and usability by adults. While some features of a children's facility are primarily used by children, others, such as doors, have a shared use. Likewise, the proposed gu idelines take into account that facilities designed to allow access for a two year old may not always allow equal access for a ten year old. In some cases, such as with reach ranges, requirements are specific to the age group for which the facility is co nstructed; in many cases, these requirements overlap so that facilities may be designed for use by children of a broad age range. Finally, the Board has taken great care to balance the legitimate cost concerns of business with access for all children.
Throughout the NPRM, the Board asks clarifying questions in the hopes of receiving information on the practical application of specific requirements. One example is the Board's question about the cost of providing knee clearance at drinking fountains; an other relates to the requirement of many State codes for textured grab bars in children's facilities (to prevent slipping). In total, the Board poses 29 questions in the NPRM. Comments on all provisions of the proposed guidelines are also invited.
The 90-day public comment period will close on October 21, 1996. Based on the volume of calls that are received each month on the toll free technical assistance line, the Board expects to receive a substantial number of comments, which will assist the Board in drafting a final rule.
A copy of the proposed rule (publication S-25: Children's Facilities Notice of Proposed Rulemaking) can be obtained by calling the Access Board's automated publications order line at (800) 872-2253, then by pressing 1, and 1 again or (800) 993-2822 (TTY) .
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the Access Board to develop accessibility guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment by August 8, 1997. The Board convened a federal advisory committee, made up of telecommunica tions providers, telecommunications equipment manufacturers, people with disabilities, and interested others.
The Telecommunications Access Advisory Committee held its first meeting June 12 - 14 in Rockville, Maryland. During this meeting, the group added two members, Motorola and the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, bringing the total committee membership to 35. The committee also decided that, in developing recommendations for the guidelines, it would use broad definitions for telecommunications, telecommunications equipment, and customer premises equipment.
Committee members also determined that the provision of access does not itself constitute a "change in form" of information (the statute defines telecommunications as "transmission...of information...without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received."). For example, in order to make a verbal transmission accessible to someone who is deaf, it may be necessary to change the information into text. Because that change was made in order to provide access, it w ould still be considered to fall within the definition of telecommunications.
In addition, the committee established a listserv. The listserv, operated by the Trace Center in Wisconsin, will allow committee members to communicate via the internet. Members of the public may sign up to "listen in" by automatically receivi ng the dialogue on their e-mail. The public may also submit comments to the Access Board.
To subscribe, individuals should send an e-mail message to LISTPROC@TRACE.WISC.EDU with the message: subscribe TAAC-L <first name> <last name>
Future meetings of the Telecommunications Access Advisory Committee are scheduled for August 14 - 16, September 25 - 27, November 6 -8, and December 16 - 18. Questions about the committee's work may be addressed to Dennis Cannon at the Access Board by ca lling: (202) 272-5434, ext. 35 or (202) 272-5449 (TTY), or by e-mail to: Cannon@Access-Board.gov.
Play Facilities Earlier this year, the Board convened a regulatory negotiation committee to develop consensus language for a proposed rule on access to play facilities. The committee is comprised of 19 organizations representing the interests of schools, play equipment m anufacturers, people with disabilities, play area operators, State and local government, children, and the building code industry.
Upcoming committee meetings are scheduled for August 4-6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and October 26-28 in Kansas City, Missouri. All meetings are open to the public, with public comment time available each day. For more information, contact Peggy Greenwel l at (202) 272-5434, ext. 34.
Access Currents is published bi-monthly, following each meeting of the Access Board, and is available free of charge upon request. Comments or questions may be forwarded to Ola, Editor of Access Currents and Public Affairs Specialist for the Board at: ( 202) 272-5434, ext. 39/(202) 272-5449 (TTY).
If you have comments, address changes, additions, or deletions, please contact Renee Long at: (202) 272-5434, ext. 18 or (202) 272-5449 (TTY). To receive Access Currents via e-mail, send a request to News@Access-Board.gov. Please include your full nam e, telephone number, and if applicable, the name of your company or organization.
The United States Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20004-1111
Tel: (202) 272-5434 / (800) 872-2253 (Voice) (202) 272-5449 / (800) 993-2822 (TTY) Fax: (202) 272-5447 e-mail: info@access-board.gov