Beyond the well-known Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there are other critical frameworks and institutions that help guide the development of accessible public spaces in the United States. Chief among them are the U.S. Access Board and the Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG). These regulatory tools and institutions are not part of broader DEI frameworks, but rather are foundational to federal civil rights law as it pertains to accessibility.

Understanding their roles helps underscore why accessibility must remain clearly distinguished from discretionary workplace programs or diversity initiatives.

What Is the U.S. Access Board?

The U.S. Access Board is an independent federal agency devoted to promoting equality for people with disabilities. Established in 1973 under the Rehabilitation Act, the Access Board develops and maintains accessibility criteria for the built environment, transportation systems, communication technology, and medical diagnostic equipment.

Its unique role combines policy development with technical expertise, offering guidance to agencies, designers, engineers, and contractors on how to meet accessibility laws such as the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). It also enforces design standards in federally funded buildings and oversees updates to accessibility rules that adapt to new technologies and environments.

What Is PROWAG and Why Does It Matter?

The Public Rights-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) provide the design standards for pedestrian access in public streets and sidewalks. While the ADA outlines general civil rights protections, PROWAG addresses the real-world implementation of accessibility, ensuring that crosswalks, curb ramps, sidewalks, and transit stops are designed for safe and equal access.

The Access Board released a final rule for PROWAG in August 2023, formally adopting these standards for federal use. This step helps municipalities align their infrastructure with nationally recognized accessibility requirements, ensuring consistency across states and local governments.

Key areas covered in PROWAG include:

- Minimum sidewalk widths and cross slopes
- Detectable warning surfaces at street crossings
- Accessible pedestrian signals
- Transit boarding and alighting areas

These guidelines directly inform city planners, engineers, and transportation departments on how to build accessible public spaces.

Why These Systems Matter Now More Than Ever

The work of the Access Board and the implementation of PROWAG represent a long-standing civil rights effort to ensure accessibility for all, particularly for individuals with mobility, visual, or cognitive disabilities. These regulatory tools ensure compliance in public infrastructure, grounded in enforceable federal law rather than organizational values or diversity initiatives.

Unlike DEI programs, which vary by institution and may shift with political or administrative changes, the Access Board’s standards carry the weight of federal rulemaking. These guidelines serve as a technical backbone for accessibility compliance in the public realm and are essential to implementing the ADA in a meaningful way.

Accessibility Is Not an Optional Program

It is critical to separate legally mandated accessibility standards from broader, voluntary DEI initiatives. While both aim to promote inclusion, ADA compliance, PROWAG, and the Access Board’s work are about civil rights enforcement, not internal policy preferences.

By clearly understanding this distinction, stakeholders, from architects to public officials, can better uphold the spirit and the letter of accessibility law.

Explore how StrongGo’s ADA-compliant TekWay® Systems align with PROWAG and other federal standards to make your public infrastructure more accessible. Contact us today.