The new rules could help bridge the gaps in accessibility infrastructure and ADA compliance, making roads and sidewalks safer for everyone.

Writing in Strong Towns, Ben Abramson asserts that newly approved Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) “promise to make American towns and cities safer and more predictable for users of all abilities.”
The new guidelines “address access to sidewalks and streets, crosswalks, curb ramps, pedestrian signals, on-street parking, and other components of public rights-of-way,” Abramson adds.
The new PROWAG adds accessibility requirements to pedestrian access routes such as slope, calls for alternate access routes in construction areas, and mandates curb cuts and detectable warning surfaces at crosswalks. It also requires accessible pedestrian signals, “which have audible and vibrotactile features indicating the walk interval so that a pedestrian who is blind or has low vision will know when to cross the street.”
The guidelines also address accessibility at transit stops and accessible parking spaces in neighborhoods with street parking.
For Strong Towns director of community action Edward Erfurt, “the level of detail in the new guidelines is a game changer” that will bring new best practices to cities that have lagged behind in implementing accessibility improvements. “This specificity, and the legal requirement that planners and engineers adhere to the guidelines, promises to bring improvements that will make everyone in American cities safer.”
FULL STORY: New PROWAG Guidelines a Major Advance for ADA (and All Pedestrians)

Planetizen’s Top Planning Books of 2023
The world is changing, and planning with it.

Chicago Red Line Extension Could Transform the South Side
The city’s transit agency is undertaking its biggest expansion ever to finally bring rail to the South Side.

How Paris, Texas Became a ‘Unicorn’ for Rural Transit
A robust coalition of advocates in the town of 25,000 brought together the funding and resources to launch a popular bus service that some residents see as a mobility lifeline—and a social club.

Seattle’s Bike Infrastructure Hamstrings Growth
Design standards that call for minimal road space allocated to bikes are limiting the growth of cycling in the city.

Winter Fun at Los Angeles County Parks
L.A. County is offering a winter edition of its popular and award-winning Parks After Dark program, providing opportunities for residents to come together and have fun in safe and welcoming spaces.

Sacramento Council Approves Upzoning Proposal
If given final approval, the plan would increase the allowable floor area ratio to permit denser housing development in single-family neighborhoods and near transit.
City of Kissimmee - Development Services
City of Kissimmee - Development Services
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
Park City Municipal Corporation
National Capital Planning Commission
City of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.