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DDOT outlines FY25 ADA transition plan update, seeks public feedback
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Summary
The District Department of Transportation presented its fiscal year 2025 Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan update, detailing recent accessibility work, planned inventory improvements, a public feedback period and a target to publish a public dashboard by the end of FY25, budget permitting.
Xavier Davis, Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator at the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), presented the agency’s fiscal year 2025 ADA transition plan update at a public forum, outlining recent work to bring sidewalks, curb ramps and pedestrian signals into compliance and asking the public for feedback before a one‑week comment deadline.
The presentation explained what DDOT will submit to the Federal Highway Administration and described the elements FHWA looks for in a transition plan under federal ADA rules. "We're just want[ing] to kind of give the public a chance to review what we're preparing to submit to Federal Highways, explain what we're submitting, and then kind of give you some information on where you can send us feedback," Davis said.
Davis said DDOT compiles an asset inventory of sidewalks, curb ramps, transit stops and accessible pedestrian signals (APS) and reports each year to FHWA. He said DDOT recorded roughly $22,500,000 in sidewalk work in the most recent fiscal year to remove barriers and an estimated $500,000 to bring APS devices into compliance and maintain existing devices.
The presentation noted that DDOT's existing inventory of barriers was completed in February 2016 and has not been fully updated since. "For fiscal year 25 and beyond, what DDOT is looking to do is ... a brand new full inventory of barriers," Davis said. He said the agency plans to use that inventory to create a public-facing dashboard showing asset locations and compliance status and hopes to have the dashboard in place before the end of fiscal year 2025, but that the timeline is budget-dependent.
Zach Smith, equity branch manager with DDOT, posted the draft transition plan link in the meeting chat and read a question from a member of the public about whether the draft includes steps to reduce sidewalk repair times. Smith responded that the draft does not include specific steps to reduce repair times, but that public comments requesting changes such as shorter repair timelines could be incorporated into the plan. "If the public's feedback is that there's concern about the time that DDOT has to repair sidewalks, that's something that we could include," Smith said.
Davis described DDOT’s design approach as prioritizing technical quality over speed or quantity: the agency focuses on correct slopes, widths and curb ramp geometry rather than installing features that may not meet ADA standards. He also explained that when field conditions prevent bringing an asset into full technical compliance, DDOT documents that the asset has been brought to the "maximum extent feasible." "Sometimes we can't bring an asset into full ADA compliance ... we brought it to the maximum extent feasible," Davis said.
He encouraged the public to review the draft posted in the chat, submit feedback through the address shown on screen and via the posted web link, and to report problems through DC 311. Davis said the public comment period is one week from the meeting and that DDOT will accept email feedback beyond that deadline for other concerns.
No formal votes or motions were taken at the forum. The meeting consisted of a staff presentation, clarifying questions from the chat, and an invitation for written public comment.
DDOT said planned next steps include performing a complete barrier inventory, developing the public dashboard contingent on budget approval, incorporating public feedback into the FY25 update to submit to the Federal Highway Administration, and continuing documentation practices for completed work.
