The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) adopted a new rule with new accessibility guidelines for federal buildings.
The rule establishes that pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way are readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities. GSA’s action creates a uniform federal standard that aims to ensure all new and modified pedestrian facilities, such as sidewalks and crosswalks, are accessible and meet the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, as amended.
The new rule requires enhanced accessibility features, including pedestrian signals and alternate access routes. The new standards:
- Increase sidewalk sizes and widths to make it easier for people to pass on the sidewalk, reducing accidental collisions and better accommodating mobility aids such as walkers, rollators, and wheelchairs.
- Regulate the ground slope at passenger loading zones, preventing them from being too steep for people with mobility disabilities to climb.
- Mandate better audio and tactile warning systems, including audio signal warnings, truncated domes, and detectable warning pavexxrs, increasing pedestrian safety by alerting pedestrians to an imminent street crossing or to when they have the right-of-way to cross the street.
This new rule is applicable to all federal new construction, alterations, and renovation projects.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Dec 5, 2023
Top 50 Federal Government Building Construction Firms for 2023
Fluor, BL Harbert, Hensel Phelps, and Turner Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest federal government building general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 5, 2023
Top 60 Federal Government Building Engineering Firms for 2023
Fluor, WSP, Jacobs, and AECOM head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest federal government building engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 5, 2023
Top 70 Federal Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Page Southerland Page, HOK, Gensler, LEO A DALY, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest federal government building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Engineers | Nov 27, 2023
Kimley-Horn eliminates the guesswork of electric vehicle charger site selection
Private businesses and governments can now choose their new electric vehicle (EV) charger locations with data-driven precision. Kimley-Horn, the national engineering, planning, and design consulting firm, today launched TREDLite EV, a cloud-based tool that helps organizations develop and optimize their EV charger deployment strategies based on the organization’s unique priorities.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 100 Government Building Construction Firms for 2023
Hensel Phelps, Turner Construction, Clark Group, Fluor, and BL Harbert top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest government building sector general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 90 Government Building Engineering Firms for 2023
Fluor, Jacobs, AECOM, WSP, and Burns & McDonnell head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest government building sector engineering and engineering architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Giants 400 | Nov 6, 2023
Top 170 Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Page Southerland Page, Gensler, Stantec, HOK, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest government building sector architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue from all government building sectors, including federal, state, local, military, and Veterans Affairs (VA) buildings.
Government Buildings | Oct 27, 2023
A spurt in public spending bolsters AEC firms' government building practices
Nonresidential public construction spending, while only about a quarter of private-sector spending, has been growing at a much faster clip lately. In June, it was up 13.8% to $411.4 billion, with commercial and manufacturing the biggest subsectors, according to Commerce Department estimates.
Government Buildings | Oct 23, 2023
Former munitions plant reimagined as net-zero federal workplace
The General Services Administration (GSA) has embraced adaptive reuse with Building 48, an exciting workplace project that sets new precedents for how the federal government will approach sustainable design.
Government Buildings | Oct 10, 2023
GSA names Elliot Doomes Public Buildings Service Commissioner
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that the agency’s Public Buildings Service Commissioner Nina Albert will depart on Oct. 13 and that Elliot Doomes will succeed her.
