Quiz#18

I found the answer by just look it up. Thought to share this questions for practice purposes. hopefully your answer will match mine.

The minimum width of a pedestrian detour, for ADA compliance, is _ inches

a) 12

b) 24

c) 36

d) 48

ADA, so automatically a wheelchair will not fit through a or b, and c seems small. Even D seems small but I'm going with 48" inches I am confident without looking it up.

nda said:

I found the answer by just look it up. Thought to share this questions for practice purposes. hopefully your answer will match mine.

The minimum width of a pedestrian detour, for ADA compliance, is _ inches

a) 12

b) 24

c) 36

d) 48

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I am going to answer strictly from real world experience. It is 36" min "at a point" and 48" continuous. I'll assume a detour is considered continuous so I'll go with 48", answer D. Of course the detour has nothing to do with it, any path of travel should be 48" min.

I'm going C - 36"

Section 403.5.1 - states that the except for turning and passing spaces the minimum required width for an accessible route is 36 inches.

Now I came to this answer using my print copy of ADA, and I would assume this would apply to any type of pedestrian detour.

For curiosity sake, I opened my searchable PDF copy and the phrase "pedestrian detour" does not appear in the document.... so I'm going to say that was a distractor.

ADA is so subjective, and so much is left up to interpretation. I really hope they don't go past asking 1:12 ramp slopes, 2% cross slopes, and 5% longitudinal.

On a completely unrelated note .,..... I am freaking the eff out about this test dudes.

Without looking anything up, I'd have to go with C

John, what's your depth? I'm taking transportation in SC and I'm freaking out as well. I can say I'm "Afraid".

Without looking it up and going off of experience, my answer is C, 36". In PA, you can only neck down below 5' for a certain distance before you need a passing area.

So what's the answer? Source?

The DOJ (28 CFR Part 36) shows 36". But that is on-site. The United States Access Board calls for a minimum 48" in the PROW (public R/W). I think of a ped detour as PROW.

Has anyone checked the AASHTO GPDOPF?...... nevermind, I'll check......

OK, found this on page 58:

The minimum clear width for a sidewalk

is 1.2 m [4 ft], not including any attached

curb, and all sidewalks must be constructed

with at least this clear width

I couldn't find anything specifically about a ped detour though.

MUTCD 2009, page 688 & 689, figure 6H-28. Sidewalk detour. The minimum is 36 inches

Congrats to us who picked C :beerchug:

nda said:

MUTCD 2009, page 688 & 689, figure 6H-28. Sidewalk detour. The minimum is 36 inches

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[SIZE=10.5pt]That is actually a Sidewalk Diversion that is 36" min, not a Detour as the problem states. Detours use existing sidewalks to direct peds around the construction where as a diversion routes them on an alternate path through the construction. Since the question asked specifically about a detour and since detours use regular existing sidewalks, and sidewalks shall be 48” min per AASHTO Ped Guide, I still contend 48” is the best answer. [/SIZE]

Looking at page 689 of the MUTCD, I see what you're saying Mr. Ptatohed. Good catch. When I read the question, I answered based on it being a diversion, not a detour simply based on the question asking for the "minimum". The way you're answering the question would imply it's kind of a trick question, and your answer should be 60" which is not even a choice! (Part D, page 561, MUTCD)

Although there is a difference between a detour and a diversion, I'm sure some people interchange these two words all the time. Just like the words bioretention and biodetention...people interchange these two words all the time, yet they have two distinct meanings, but given the context of the conversation, one would know the intent of the word.

An interesting tidbit is the MUTCD also states on page 622 that detours should be avoided since pedestrians rarely observe them and the cost of providing accessibility and detectability might outweigh the cost of maintaining a continuous route (diversion). Whenever possible, work should be done in a manner that does not create a need to detour pedestrians from existing routes or crossings.

What really matters IMO, is what the ADA guidelines states. MUTCD even states so on page 547. On test day, the ADA guidelines would be my go to source.

The Wizard said:

What really matters IMO, is what the ADA guidelines states. MUTCD even states so on page 547. On test day, the ADA guidelines would be my go to source.

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Wiz, what do you mean by "ADA guidelines"?

I think you should be using Chapter 4 of the ADA - Accessible Routes for everything. In the end, the DOJ governs all this stuff.

This does bring up an interesting dilemma though. NCEES is testing ADA, yet the ADA book is not a required reference.

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm#c4

John Q said:

I think you should be using Chapter 4 of the ADA - Accessible Routes for everything. In the end, the DOJ governs all this stuff.

This does bring up an interesting dilemma though. NCEES is testing ADA, yet the ADA book is not a required reference.

http://www.ada.gov/regs2010/2010ADAStandards/2010ADAstandards.htm#c4

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I strongly recommend staying away from references not on the NCEES list.

I know what you are saying ..... but this may be an odd case .... I'm searching the MUTCD (which is a required reference, obviously), and it seems whenever ADA is mentioned, it references the ADAAG

John Q said:

I know what you are saying ..... but this may be an odd case .... I'm searching the MUTCD (which is a required reference, obviously), and it seems whenever ADA is mentioned, it references the ADAAG

Click to expand...

I think the AASHTO GDHS touches ever so slightly on ADA but the AASHTO Ped Guide provides reasonable coverage of ADA, right? It's my (educated?) opinion that you wouldn't be tested on anything outside of that coverage.

I knew the new NCEES practice exam had an ADA question (max ramp slope = 8.33%) which is 1:12 which is in the ADAAG .... I was curious to see what they cited for the reference in their solution. They cited the Green Book.

Since the AASHTO Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities (July 2004) often quotes the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), and on Page 4 pf Chapter 1 at the bottom it is stated that "The portions of the ADAAG that are legal requirements can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 28 CFR Part 36," I think it is a good idea to print the ADAAG since it is only 90 pages, and bind it as an Appendix to the AASHTO book. It can be found here: https://www.wbdg.org/pdfs/28cfr36.pdf and is contained on pages 23-113 of that PDF (Appendix A to 28 CFR 36 is the ADAAG).

Page 15 of the ADAAG (Page 39 of the PDF in the link above) shows the Minimum Clear Width for Single Wheelchair is 36-inches continuously and 32-inches at a point (Figure 1). I said that to say this: No where in the ADAAG is their language on "pedestrian detours." And the question in this thread states "ADA Compliance". Regardless of what the MUTCD or other AASHTO references may say, the focus of this question is simply for "ADA Compliance". Now, I would assume a "pedestrian detour" to be considered a "continuous path of travel", and therefore would answer C - 36 inches.

Keep in mind that even if the minimum clear width for a sidewalk is 48 inches per other AASHTO references, this question is asking for "ADA Compliance" only.

This is what I've been saying .... I think ADA is going to be a weird topic to test on .... the ADAAG trumps everything. I bet this is a required reference in October.