The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) today issued its final rule providing minimum guidelines for accessibility of pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way, known as PROWAG.

These final guidelines have been long awaited, in particular by state and local governments that have sought them for more than 30 years.

The final rule for PROWAG was published in the Federal Register and is effective Sept. 7. Once adopted, the guidelines “would ensure that facilities used by pedestrians, such as sidewalks and crosswalks, constructed or altered in the public right-of-way by federal, state, and local governments are readily accessible to and usable by pedestrians with disabilities,” according to the posting.

The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) summer meeting addressed a variety of topics including traffic signals and vulnerable road users and provided an indication that work is progressing on the updated Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

In May, ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner sent a letter to Federal Highway Administration Administrator Shailen P. Bhatt urging the FHWA to publish the updated MUTCD by the May 15 deadline set forth in the U.S. Code. Tetschner acknowledged the "tremendous amount of work” needed to update the MUTCD but said he wanted to “stress how vital it is that this statutory deadline is met.”

Toward the end of the summer meeting of the NCUTCD, also referred to as “the National Committee,” federal officials made reference to August, suggesting work on the final rule is moving forward. However, there was no commitment that it would be published that month.

TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit, has released updated statistics for its latest report on traffic fatalities and serious injury crashes nationwide.

The new information provides the latest statistics for each state to accompany its June report, “Addressing America’s Traffic Safety Crisis: Examining the Causes of Increasing U.S. Traffic Fatalities and Identifying Solutions to Improve Road User Safety.”

The updated information is available in the form of downloadable fact sheets for each state and includes information about each state’s surface transportation system and federal funding.

ATSSA’s Midyear Meeting features a panel on “Creating a Culture of Safety in the Workplace.”

Panelists include Doug Dolinar of Guidemark Inc., Kathi Holst of D2K Traffic Safety Inc., Chris Brookes of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Cameron Greene of ATSSA. Dave Krahulec of Horizon Signal Technologies will moderate.

The Midyear Meeting will be held Aug. 15-18 at the Loews Chicago O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Ill. Registration is now available. The hotel block closes July 24.

TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit, this morning released a report showing that the high number of traffic fatalities and serious-injury crashes over the past three years took a significant toll on the nation in both lives lost and economic costs.

Utilizing data from a 2023 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, TRIP estimated that fatal and serious traffic crashes in the U.S. in 2022 caused a total of $1.9 trillion in “societal harm,” including $465 billion in economic costs and $1.4 trillion in quality-of-life costs.