Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Accessibility topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission reviews 11 Main Street variance requests tied to new PROAG standards
Summary
Director Mish presented 11 variance requests for the Main Street redesign, explaining the design meets emerging Public Right of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROAG) but not older AAB cross‑slope limits; commissioners asked for comparative slope measurements and agreed to provide initial comments to AAB before a formal vote in September.
Director Mish, Northampton’s planning and sustainability director, told the disabilities commission the Main Street redesign includes 11 variance requests because the project was designed to meet newer Public Right of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROAG) that differ from existing Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (AAB) standards.
“This project meets the PROAG standards,” Director Mish said, “but it doesn’t meet the AAB standards” in places where plaza and landing cross‑slopes exceed the 2% AAB maximum. Mish described a new crosswalk at Elm and State near Smith College and a string of plazas and bumpouts down Main Street where plaza cross slopes rise above AAB limits but generally remain within PROAG allowances.
Commissioners probed the origin and timing of PROAG adoption and asked for concrete comparisons to familiar downtown crosswalks. One commissioner asked whether the design team had minimized slopes; Mish said the team prioritized minimizing both running and cross slopes but was constrained by topography. She offered to have staff measure existing downtown crosswalks and provide sampled percentages before the commission’s September meeting.
The commission agreed to collect comments and initial reactions to share with AAB while reserving a formal vote until their September meeting so members can review detailed plans and, if helpful, visit local prototype slopes in person.
