State Highway Administration

Over the last several years, our responsibility as a transportation agency has moved beyond providing safe mobility on our state’s roadway system to include safe passage of pedestrians along them, as well as across them. In doing so, it is our responsibility for providing safe passage to all pedestrians.

This design guide was developed to assist the transportation engineer in designing public sidewalks and crossings to provide an accessible route. It is meant to provide guidance to the engineer when designing new roadways, as well as retrofit projects. It is our goal that these guidelines will assist the engineer and overall achieve a more consistent approach to the design of accessible facilities within the State Highway Administration.

Pedestrians with disabilities are challenged in different ways and navigate public rights-of-ways with varying success. While a certain feature within the right-of-way may present a hazard to a pedestrian who is blind, it may not be a challenge for a pedestrian in a wheel chair. In addition, design solutions may offer varying degrees of success in serving individual disabilities.

These guidelines will highlight typical situations. However, each situation will require analysis to determine the best way to address accessibility and ultimately will be dependent upon engineering judgement. Cases where there are physical constraints, right-of-way limitations, historic districts, or other elements that may constrain the engineer’s ability to provide full accessibility shall be documented. Documentation shall be made in the milestone reports and include discussion on the specific constraint, options that were evaluated, and ultimate design provided. A Design Waiver will be required for any element that does not meet these guidelines.