REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Approval of Murphy Avenue Pedestrian Mall Concept
Report
BACKGROUND
On February 7, 2023 (RTC No. 23-0144), the City Council adopted a Resolution of Intent to establish a pedestrian mall on the 100 block of South Murphy Avenue (Historic Murphy Avenue). The City Council subsequently established the pedestrian mall by resolution adopted on May 16, 2023 (RTC No. 23-0359) and adopted Ordinance No. 3214-23 on May 23, 2023, which prohibits riding or operating a bike, motor driven cycle or motor scooter on Historic Murphy Avenue (RTC No. 23-0625). At those Council meetings, City staff shared a preliminary design concept to provide for increased accessibility to restaurants and outdoor dining areas on Historic Murphy Avenue in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The initial intent was to slope the existing parking bays to provide a continuous ramp from the sidewalk to street-level dining.
After further review by staff of the existing conditions and the new federal Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) adopted by the Federal Department of Transportation in July 2024, along with general Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II and Title III standards, it was determined that sloping the parking bays would not provide compliant access, nor optimize the space for street-level dining. Because Murphy Avenue is a public roadway, the recently adopted PROWAG document will govern for accessibility as it gives specific guidance and details around providing accessibility specifically in the public right-of-way focusing on curb ramps and sidewalks. The general ADA provides high-level guidance without details on how to address accessibility in the public right-of-way. The California Building Code (CBC) governs accessibility on private property.
The PROWAG has taken over a decade to finalize. In August 2023, the Federal Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) released the P...
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