Fw: November Extra: Accessible Transportation News and Training

[Guest guest]

Easter SealsFYI

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

November Extra: Accessible Transportation News and Training

November 2011

Welcome to Extra, Easter Seals Project ACTION's monthly

newsletter.

ESPA News

Fall Update & Information Brief on Wayfinding Technology

Released

The new edition of ESPA's Update newsletter focuses on

technology and how it enhances customer service, ride coordination and

wayfinding. Check for articles on the 2010 Dallas County ATCI team's effort to

coordinate existing transportation services; upcoming new products from ESPA,

such as the Including People with Disabilities: Communication & Meeting

Etiquette pocket guide, and new technologies that help reduce costs and increase

mobility. Also included is a Q & A special with Barbara McCann, executive director

of the National Complete Streets Coalition, and Ronkin, a national

bicycle and pedestrian expert. Update is now available online and will arrive

soon in print in your postal mailbox along with a four-page insert on Improving

Transit Facility Accessibility by Employing Wayfinding Technology. This

information brief focuses on identifying new technologies that improve

accessibility within transit systems, especially for customers who are blind or

have visual impairments and use wayfinding to navigate their environment.

ESPA Currently Accepting Applications for the 2012 Accessible

Transportation Coalitions Initiative

If your community is ready to create accessible transportation

solutions and engage local leaders in the process, Project ACTION is ready to

support your community! Ten communities across the United States will be

selected to participate in the Accessible Transportation Coalitions Initiative

(ATCI) to identify transportation accessibility goals and develop an action plan

to meet them. Selected communities will receive on-site facilitation at a

two-day event held in their local communities and one year of individualized

follow-up technical assistance. Additional information, requirements and

application materials are available on the ESPA website. Check out ESPA's new

Mobility Planning Services Retrospective to see how past ATCI/MPS teams have

improved accessible transportation in their communities. For questions about

ATCI, contact Donna at 800-659-6428 or ATCI@.... Application

deadline: December 22.

Take the 2011 ESPA Training and Resources Survey

We want to hear from you! ESPA appreciates your use of our

resources and your participation in our training activities. Please complete

this short survey and help us create resources and training events to meet the

needs of the transportation field and the disability community.

Upcoming Training

Rail Accessibility: Ensuring Equal Access to a Growing

Transportation Mode-Webinar

On December 1 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPA will conduct a

webinar, Rail Accessibility: Ensuring Equal Access to a Growing Transportation

Mode. Rail is becoming an increasingly popular transportation mode with record

ridership among existing systems, new light-rail development in multiple cities,

and plans for implementing high-speed rail across the country. This webinar will

focus on how accessibility features are currently being included in the design

of new rail projects, how they were built into those projects, and how other

designers and communities can include accessibility in the planning process for

future projects. Presenters will include Devylder, senior advisor for

Accessible Transportation at the U.S. Department of Transportation, and

Skiver, deputy chief operations officer at the land Transit Administration.

Registration deadline: November 25.

Industry News

New Guidelines for Airports Regarding the Construction of

Animal Relief Areas Beyond Security Checkpoints

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation

Security Administration (TSA) recently issued new guidelines for airports

regarding the construction of animal relief areas beyond security checkpoints.

TSA's revised version of Recommended Security Guidelines for Airport Planning,

Design and Construction (*.PDF) allows airports and airlines to establish

service animal relief areas in sterile areas of the airport and provide escorted

access to non-designated outdoor areas for the purpose of service animal relief.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Transportation has also recently issued a

notice of proposed rulemaking that would, among other things, extend the

obligation to establish service animal relief areas at U.S. airports to the U.S.

airport operators. Comments on this rulemaking may be submitted at

http://www.regulations.gov/ on or before November 28.

PBIC Announces Second Round of Walk Friendly Communities

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center has announced

the second round of Walk Friendly Communities in 10 locations across the

country. Through awarding the Walk Friendly title, PBIC recognizes communities

for their commitment to improving walkability and pedestrian safety. " We were

very pleased to have a great mix of designated communities this round, " said

Carl Sundstrom, WFC program manager. " Through the application process,

communities share their best practices and, in turn, we're able to share this

information to all of the communities who apply through the technical assistance

we provide. " Officially launched in October 2010, the WFC program is funded by

FedEx and the Federal Highway Administration. Interested communities are

encouraged to visit http://www.walkfriendly.org/ to learn more about the program

and review the community assessment tool.

Research

Communication with Vulnerable Populations: A Transportation

and Emergency Management Toolkit

TRB's Transit ative Research Program (TCRP) Report 150:

Communication with Vulnerable Populations: A Transportation and Emergency

Management Toolkit describes how to create a communication process to reach

people who may need greater assistance regarding transportation options in

emergencies. The toolkit provides a guiding framework and tools for constructing

a scalable, adaptable communication process for a network of agencies from

public, private and nonprofit sectors. Together, these partners can form

interconnected communication channels to carry out emergency communication not

necessarily possible by working alone.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Did you miss last month's Extra? Previous issues are available

on the website.

The electronic editions of the latest and archived issues of

Update, ESPA's biannual newsletter, are also available online. To be added to

the surface mailing list, please sign up online at www.projectaction.org. Or,

call ESPA at (202) 347-3066 or toll-free at (800) 659-6428.

Follow us on Twitter @projectaction

Follow our blog Viewpoints - Pathways to Accessible

Transportation

Thank you for inviting Easter Seals Project ACTION's Extra

into your mailbox.

If you received this email in error or no longer wish to

receive Easter Seals Project ACTION's monthly online newsletter, please

unsubscribe. You can also update your name, email address or other contact

information at any time. We respect your desire for privacy and will not make

your name or email address available to other organizations.

Easter Seals Project ACTION (ESPA) is funded through a

cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal

Transit Administration, and is administered by Easter Seals, Inc. This document

is disseminated by ESPA in the interest of information exchange. Neither Easter

Seals nor the U.S. DOT, FTA assumes liability for its contents or use thereof.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Easter Seals Project ACTION, 1425 K Street, NW Suite 200,

Washington, DC 20005