From Research to Policy: Disability and Urban Transportation Planning

The Great Lakes ADA Center

Submitted by Yochai Eisenberg

Focus

The Accessible Cities project (ACP) at the Great Lakes Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center set out to analyze the current state of compliance with ADA guidelines pertaining to public rights-of-way (PROW) (i.e., the infrastructure that supports walking and wheeling in cities). The focus of this analysis was the content of municipal transition plans for equal disability access across the nation. This national study, led by principal investigator Yochai Eisenberg and coinvestigators Robin Jones and Rob Gould, found that only 13% of the 401 government entities studied had a transition plan for review (Eisenberg et al., 2020). After learning of this study, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), a Chicago-based advocacy organization, partnered with the Great Lakes ADA Center to develop tools and strategies to create high-quality transition plans for local communities.

This Knowledge Translation (KT) Casebook entry describes strategies that have supported the uptake of consequent major policy shifts in the Chicago region, the state of Illinois, and nationally. The KT strategies described include collaborating with key communities, such as disability self-advocates, to create an adaptable auditing tool, a casebook on high-quality transition plans, and a StoryMap on the rise of lawsuits and how ADA transition plans can be an important alternative. This entry also describes the far-reaching impact of the ACP.

Context

One in four individuals in the United States (61 million people) report having a disability that affects their ability to function in areas such as walking, hearing, seeing, or remembering (Okoro, 2018). To ensure equal access to the community, health care, employment, and other essential opportunities for people with disabilities, the pedestrian environment needs to be safe and accessible (Eisenberg, Hayes, et al., 2022; Eisenberg, Hofstra, et al., 2022; Eisenberg, Hayes, et al., 2024; Eisenberg, Hofstra, et al., 2024; Gamache et al., 2018; Lawson et al., 2022; Levine & Karner, 2023). Barriers in the pedestrian environment for people with disabilities include unclear or inaccessible signs, uneven sidewalks, missing curb ramps, and steep ramps. These barriers can pose risks to the physical safety of people with disabilities and disrupt access to services and participation in the community (Eisenberg et al., 2020; Eisenberg, Hofstra, et al., 2022; Eisenberg, Hayes, et al., 2024; Eisenberg, Hofstra, et al., 2024).

To address these barriers and risks, Title II of the ADA prohibits public entities, including state and local governments, from discriminating on the basis of disability. It also ensures that individuals with disabilities have equal access to programs, services, and activities provided by public entities (U.S. Department of Justice, 2020). To ensure accessibility, public entities with 50 or more employees must develop an ADA transition plan that identifies access barriers and details the steps to remove them. Public entities are also obligated to ensure their facilities are accessible, provide reasonable accommodations, and adjust policies or practices to prevent discrimination.

The ACP found that despite the requirements of Title II of the ADA, public entities across the United States failed to create ADA transition plans for review, let alone follow through with plans to remove barriers to access in PROW (Eisenberg et al., 2020). The project’s team of researchers, along with a community expert panel, developed a community-based audit tool to evaluate the content and quality of ADA transition plans nationwide. The findings distributed through community-based KT products gained national attention and led to a partnership with the MPC to evaluate, develop, and implement the Chicago metropolitan area’s ADA transition plans. Despite the numerous lawsuits filed against cities across the United States for insufficient and oftentimes dangerous PROW, the ACP was the first project of its kind (Eisenberg et al., 2020).

KT Activities

This project developed community-based KT tools to aid cities in improving their local government barrier removal plans and raise awareness of lawsuits about the state of pedestrian accessibility. Key strategies and tools that led to policy change in pedestrian accessibility are detailed below.

The ACP team worked closely with an expert panel of interest holders (e.g., ADA accessibility experts, engineers, lawyers, architects, ADA coordinators, self-advocates with disabilities). This team of researchers developed a practice-oriented audit tool to assess the content and quality of ADA transition plans across the nation. Following a process aligned with an Integrated Knowledge Translation (IKT) approach, the research team actively involved all relevant parties throughout every stage of the research and KT process. This contrasts with an “end-of-grant” approach, where researchers complete their study first and then share their findings with relevant parties after (Nguyen et al., 2020). Since those interested and involved in transportation planning were part of the decision making from the beginning of the study, research findings and community-based tools were easily disseminated through networks of larger interest holders.

Audit Tool

The audit tool, known as the Quality Assessment of TrAnsition Plans or Q-TAP, was developed to conduct an evaluation of local government barrier removal plans across the United States. After the tool was drafted by Eisenberg and colleagues, it underwent two rounds of review by the expert panel and was then pilot tested on 10 diverse communities and adjusted as needed.

Although Q-TAP was initially developed for the ACP, it has now become a resource for other communities to self-evaluate the quality of their transition plans. Advocates and community groups can use the tool to evaluate local barrier removal plans and leverage the findings to push for more robust strategies in PROW accessibility. The tool can also be customized for use in other countries with comparable requirements for urban barrier removal plans (Eisenberg et al., 2020).

Casebook of High-Quality Transition Plans

To address the gap in ADA transition planning, Labbé and Eisenberg (n.d.), with support from the Great Lakes ADA Center, created a casebook of success stories to help communities develop high-quality ADA transition plans. The casebook, “Creating High-quality ADA Transition Plans for the Pedestrian Environment: A Casebook of Success Stories,” highlights best practices in ADA transition plan development and implementation. Data for the casebook was gathered from interviews with stakeholders from 13 municipalities who serve as exemplars in developing transition plans. Interviews with ADA technical assistance (TA) centers, ADA coordinators, and local TA program coordinators from the selected municipalities “explored effective implementation mechanisms for ADA transition planning” (Eisenberg, Hofstra, et al., 2024, p. 3).

The casebook includes an overview and definitions of quality indicators used to assess the ADA transition plans in each municipality and descriptions of the 13 chosen municipalities. It also summarizes the key elements of success the municipalities shared and highlights critical elements in developing high-quality transition plans (e.g., having links to local disability organizations; collaborating with the disability community and other key policy and city interest holders during the planning process; having an ADA coordinator with a clear role; setting reasonable goals and timelines).

StoryMap

To raise awareness of the critical issues with pedestrian infrastructure across the country, Eisenberg, Hayes, and Berquist (2022) created a database and accompanying StoryMap that highlight key lawsuits and settlement agreements related to pedestrian infrastructure accessibility. The database draws from a variety of sources, including case law, legal databases, news articles, government websites, and the Project Civic Access database. The StoryMap highlights the most influential lawsuits and provides an interactive map of lawsuits related to sidewalk accessibility from 2000 to 2023.

The StoryMap also identifies potential solutions for communities to address the shortcomings of pedestrian accessibility and includes links to a variety of resources (e.g., the casebook described above, an ADA webinar, a Title II Action Guide, ADA transition plan templates, and ADA coordinator training).

Impact

The findings and the KT products from this project led to a partnership with MPC. MPC reached out to the ACP team to partner and evaluate the Chicago region’s ADA transition plans. Like the national study (see Eisenberg et al., 2020), a 2021 report coauthored by MPC and the Great Lakes ADA Center—Where the Sidewalk Ends—reported that only 11% of the 204 municipalities in the Chicago region had a transition plan in place (Metropolitan Planning Council & Great Lakes ADA Center, 2023). Of those that did have plans, none of them satisfied all the ADA requirements.

The report, along with other KT products shared with practicing planners and policy makers, gained the attention of the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDT). IDT provided the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning with approximately $10 million to establish a new focus area on accessibility and ADA planning to support the development and implementation of transition plans in Chicago-area communities. The program offers TA to local governments to complete self-evaluations and create and implement transition plans.

The reach of the ACP has extended beyond the local Chicago region. Since the programmatic and policy changes were implemented in the Chicago region, the IDT has developed an initiative to evaluate, monitor, and support communities outside of the Chicago region with their ADA transition plans. Moreover, the ACP has reached a broad national audience via media coverage for its work on topics like transportation equity, pedestrian safety, and accessibility lawsuits (see Appendix A for a full list of examples).

Lessons Learned

As a result of these ATTT strategies, the team could refine the design of the Aurie system and identify important communication channels with catheter users. After the initial testing phase, the project brought on a new team member, who is herself a catheter user, to drive continued engagement with catheter users outside a formal test protocol. The Cathbuddy, Inc. team plans to pursue additional testing to further assure FDA, users, and health care providers of the system’s safety and efficacy.

Lessons Learned

As a result of these ATTT strategies, the team could refine the design of the Aurie system and identify important communication channels with catheter users. After the initial testing phase, the project brought on a new team member, who is herself a catheter user, to drive continued engagement with catheter users outside a formal test protocol. The Cathbuddy, Inc. team plans to pursue additional testing to further assure FDA, users, and health care providers of the system’s safety and efficacy.

Contact Information

NIDILRR Grant Name: Accessible Cities
Organization: The Great Lakes ADA Center
Physical Address: University of Illinois, Department of Disability and Human Development, 1640 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL, 60608. mc626,
Website: https://www.adagreatlakes.org/
Key Contact: Yochai Eisenberg, PhD, yeisen2@uic.edu

References