ADA Services: ADA Self-Assessment and Transition Plan

Rehoboth Beach is a key tourism destination on the Delaware coastline, where the beaches, shopping, and restaurants draw significant numbers of people. The City is committed to providing accessible facilities and programs to community members and visitors regardless of income, race, age, and ability. JMT is working with the City to prepare a new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) transition plan to identify and address barriers to accessibility.  

To ensure facilities are fully accessible to everyone, communities like Rehoboth Beach are developing ADA transition plans to assess their facilities for compliance with the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) and Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) standards set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II: Regulations for State and Local Government standards.

The primary step in developing an ADA transition plan is to assess existing policies, practices, and physical barriers that may impede access or usage for individuals with disabilities. To support the inventory and assessment of pedestrian facilities, JMT designed a geodatabase schema that includes information necessary to determine whether a curb ramp, sidewalk, crosswalk, or other pedestrian facility is ADA-compliant or non-compliant. JMT configured Esri’s ArcGIS Field Maps application to assess pedestrian facilities in the field; trained field crews on how to use the application; conducted assessments along all roadway corridors with pedestrian amenities over four phases; and performed quality control checks to ensure the collected data was complete and accurate.   

Once all the city’s pedestrian facilities are assessed, JMT will analyze the data and assist Rehoboth in calculating the cost of repairing or replacing non-compliant facilities, establish priorities based on various criteria, and prepare a plan for implementing modifications and improvements. As Rehoboth Beach implements its ADA transition plan, the inventory of pedestrian features can be updated to reflect the work completed and to show progress over time.