ADA transition plans and their role in the development of accessible cities

The goal of this research project is to describe the current status of Public Rights-of-Way (PROW) ADA transition plans in the U.S. in order to improve understanding and identify where additional resources are needed for local planning and implementation of Title II of the ADA. PROW plans focus on the locations where people walk in a community - sidewalks, paths and intersections.

All local public agencies with 50 or more employees were required to have a transition plan under Title II of the ADA. Those who build or maintain roads are required to develop a plan about their public rights-of-way. Development of these plans as been slow and it is not clear how many communities actually have a plan. The ADA transition plan can serve as an important marker that a community is ready and committed to ensuring that people with disability have equal opportunities to get around their communities and access public and private locations by walking/rolling or using public transportation.

This comprehensive study of ADA transition plans will take place in three parts:

1. Research staff at UIC will systematically review a representative sample of PROW ADA transition plans in the U.S. to get an idea of how many communities have plans and 'where communities are at' in their process of implementation. An audit tool was developed through input from an expert panel of engineers, lawyers, ADA coordinators, architects and consultants; some of whom are people with disability. This systematic review will identify 1) the percentage of Local Public Agencies (LPAs) with transition plans, 2) how much of communities' infrastructure are still in need of improvement, 3) the characteristics of communities that have developed transition plans, 4) The level of public engagement in the development of transition plans, and 5) best practices in ADA implementation.
2. The second phase of this project will involve conducting qualitative interviews with ADA coordinators and urban planning professionals involved in local government and municipal implementation to identify barriers and facilitators to self-evaluations, transition plans, and possible connections to other urban planning efforts.
3. The final phase of this study will involve a geospatial analysis of the pedestrian infrastructure to better understand how the PROW transition plans lines up with what has actually been built on the ground in a sample of communities in the U.S.

The results of this research will be used to develop new resources and targeted technical assistance to local public agencies responsible for developing ADA transition plans for the public rights-of-way. The audit tool developed for the systematic review will be converted to a technical assistance tool that is useful for professional and lay audiences to examine the quality of their own transition plans or to prepare future transition plans. The resource will include best practices found as part of the review and interviews as well as 'stories from the field'. Results from this research will be shared through ADA networks as well as professional planning and engineering networks through reports, manuscripts and plain language summaries.

Focus Areas

• Where the sidewalk ends: The state of municipal ADA transition planning for the public right-of-way in the Chicago region
  People with disabilities are limited by barriers in the pedestrian infrastructure. The Chicago region is no doubt more accessible than it was 30 years ago when the ADA was passed. However, it is not clear that sufficient progress has been made to develop walkable and wheelable communities for all. Government entities with 50+ employees were required to develop an ADA Transition Plan, which is document where a local government assesses the conditions of the public right-of-way (e.g. sidewalks, curb-cuts, and crosswalks), finds any barriers that may be limiting access, and plans for their removal. Last year, our team conducted a national study of 401 government entities and found that only 13% had transition plans for review. As a follow-up, we partnered with the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) to determine the extent to which entities in the Chicago metropolitan area have developed an ADA Transition Plan. This report shows the results from a 2020 evaluation of the Chicago region’s 204 municipalities with greater than 50 employees. At the time of our assessment, we found that only 11% (22) municipalities had plans. Municipalities with plans were assessed for requirements met and overall quality. None of the collected plan satisfied all of the five ADA required elements and varied greatly in the quality. The report concludes with resources for communities and stakeholders that can be used to support more and better ADA transition planning. We hope this research can assist in furthering more inclusive and accessible communities in the Chicago area.




• Creating High-quality ADA Transition Plans for the Pedestrian Environment: A Casebook of Success Stories
  Our research team developed a new resource for those involved in ADA transition planning. The casebook is based on interviews with 13 municipalities who developed and implement high-quality plans that go beyond minimum requirements. This tool highlights concrete examples and best practices of ADA transition plan development and implementation for the public rights-of-way. The casebook offers insight for those who are looking to develop or revise their ADA transition plans, regardless of the location, size, or density of your municipality. It includes a summary of key ingredients to develop a high-quality plan that can be used effectively plan for amore accessible future for all residents.

Research staff for this project include:

• Principal Investigator: Yochai Eisenberg, Contact Yochai
• Co-Investigators: Robert Gould, Robin Jones, and Delphine Labbe