Accessibility in New Orleans

The Department of Public Works (DPW) addresses a variety of issues that impact the accessibility of streets and sidewalks within Orleans Parish These include providing physical accessibility features on City of New Orleans streets, providing a process for public accommodation requests, providing a means by which accommodation grievance procedures can be initiated, and tracking progress toward compliance.

Request Accommodations for Disabilities in the Public Right of Way

Follow these steps:

  1. Requests for accommodations such as the installation of curb ramps, the designation of accessible parking zones, the installation of accessible pedestrian signals, and the removal of sidewalk obstructions can be made by calling 311 or submitting a request through the 311 website.
  2. If you submitted an accommodation request without resolution and believe your claim is the subject of disability-related discrimination on the basis of denial of access, please fill out the Accommodation Request Resolution Form.
  3. If you are dissatisfied with the written decision prepared by DPW, you may file a written appeal with the Chief Administrative Office

Step 1: Call 311

  • To make a request related to curb ramps and sidewalks, please call 311 or submit a request through the 311 website by choosing the Roads/Drainage category and choosing “Accessibility Ramps, Curbs, and Sidewalk Repair” in Request Reason field. Specific information on the exact location of the request such as an address or closest intersection should be provided.
  • To make a request related to pedestrian signals, please call 311 or submit a request through the 311 website by choosing the Traffic Signals category and choosing “Traffic Signal” in Request Reason field.
  • Click here to request a Residential Accessible Parking zone.

Step 2: Accommodation Request Resolution Procedure

If you submitted an accommodation request without resolution and believe your claim is the subject of disability-related discrimination on the basis of denial of access, please fill out an Accessibility Resolution Form. For more information, please see Appendix B in the City of New Orleans ADA Transition Plan for Public Rights-of-Way Update. As needed, please visit DPW at 1300 Perdido St., Rm 6W03; or call DPW at 504-658-800; or email accessibility@nola.gov for reasonable accommodations to complete this form.

DPW will investigate further and prepare a written decision, after full consideration of the merits of the complaint, no later than 60 days following the receipt of the Accommodation Request Resolution Form. The written decision will be mailed directly to the contact name and address provided on the Accommodation Request Resolution Form.

Step 3: Final Appeal

If you are dissatisfied with the written decision prepared by DPW, you may file a written appeal with the Chief Administrative Office no later than 15 business days of the date of the mailing of the decision. The appeal must contain a statement of the reasons why you are dissatisfied with the DPW written decision, and must be signed by you or by someone authorized to do so on your behalf.

Send Final Appeal to: Chief Administrative Officer, 1300 Perdido Street, 9th Floor, New Orleans, LA 70112

The Chief Administrative Officer will act upon the appeal no later than 30 days after receipt, and a copy of the Chief Administrative Officer’s written decision shall be forwarded to the complainant no later than five working days after preparation of the decision.

Accessibility Dashboard

The New Orleans Accessibility Dashboard is now available! This dashboard shows accessibility features such as curb ramps, Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS), and designated accessible parking zones throughout the city. The Dashboard also allows the user to track the City’s progress toward achieving accessible public rights-of-way.

View the Street & Sidewalk Accessibility Dashboard

ADA Transition Plan for Public Rights-of-Way

View the 2023 update to the ADA Transition Plan for Public Rights-of-Way

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted on July 26, 1990, provides comprehensive civil rights protections for persons with disabilities in the areas of employment, state and local government services, and access to public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. Title II of the ADA requires the DPW to develop and periodically update a Transition Plan specific to City streets and sidewalks that address accessibility.

On Feb. 17, 2022, the DPW provided a status update and requested public input for the ADA Transition Plan Update originally released in 2013 and updated in 2018. This citywide virtual update included the release of the Accessibility dashboard and findings from the ongoing self-evaluation as part of the Transition Plan update. To view the PowerPoint Presentation from the February 2022 Transition Plan public meeting click here.

Status Of Recommendations

Category 2013 Recommendation Current Status
Alterations & Elements added to Existing Facilities Update DPW permit requirements and utility, property, and sidewalk café franchise agreements to require compliance with R202 of PROWAG Reviews for permits includes ADA compliance (ADA coordination with DPW, DOJ, Mayor's Office); Established accessibility criteria for sidewalk café permits -2021
Pedestrian Street Crossings 1) Establish a DPW policy for reviewing and granting exceptions for accessible pedestrian crossings; 2) revise DPW standard details to clearly state that DPW requires all pedestrian street crossings be accessible unless an exception is granted Building off the Accessibility Dashboard updates, currently establishing automated data update and quality assurance procedures for compliant curb ramps so that the data remain timely and accurate.  
Accessible Pedestrian Signals and Pedestrian Pushbuttons Update DPW specifications to reflect PROWAG technical requirements for new and altered pedestrian signals   Completed; APS installation locations shown on ADA Dashboard (2022)
Transit Stops & Transit Shelters 1) Develop DPW standard details that are compliant with R308 for transit facilities that are commonly constructed in street public rights-of-way; 2) require appropriate specs to ensure compliance on projects that include transit stops and transit shelters Falls v. RTA Settlement Agreement states that CNO is responsible for all repairs related to the “Access to Stop” issues as defined in the 2015 Survey. The Agreement states that all of the stops are to be brought into compliance by November 30, 2031.
On-street Parking Spaces 1) Develop DPW standards that address accessible on-street parking spaces; 2) ensure that all parking vendor contracts address Section R214 of PROWAG 2018 Transition Plan Update, Appendix I - established accessible public parking spaces in 10 locations; 2014 policy update - all metered parking is no cost for 3 hours for all vehicles with accessibility hangtags; Currently drafting DPW policy memorandum for installing on-street accessible parking spaces

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are questions that have arisen both anticipated and through public comment regarding the ADA Transition Plan, including questions about our recently published dashboard. Please send any additional questions to David Lee Simmons, Mobility and Safety Outreach Manager, to David Lee Simmons at david.simmons@nola.gov.

In 2010, Department of Public Works (DPW) worked with the Office of the Mayor’s ADA Administrator to establish a DPW ADA Advisory Committee to inform and review the planning process for the DPW Transition Plan. The Committee met regularly from August 2010 to October 2011 – a lot of the feedback that was provided by this committee in 2011 is still relevant and still informing the approach for our current update.

The 2010/2011 ADA Advisory Committee had representation from various advocacy organizations, such as Lighthouse, ARC GNO, The Advocacy Center, LSUHSC Occupational Therapy, and American Diabetes & Alzheimer’s Association. There were also citizen advocates (not representing organizations) who were wheelchair users, both mechanical and self-propelled.

Please report issues directly to the Department of Public Works at Joshua Exler at joshua.exler@nola.gov.

Click the “layers” icon. It is in the bar of light-blue icons in the top-right corner of the map. The “layers” icon is second from the right.

You can either use the filter buttons below the map to view one category at a time, or if you want to see multiple categories at once, you can directly filter the map by clicking on parts of the pie charts on the right side of the page.

You can expand the panel at the left side of the page to filter by neighborhoods. You can also use the address search feature in the map (the magnifying glass icon in the top-right of the map) to zoom to a specific location.

The easiest way is to reset every filter at once is to refresh the page.

You can visually compare priorities and self-evaluation of compliance by using the layer filtering features. DPW is in the progress of joining the data to allow direct comparisons. This will be completed in the second quarter of 2022.

Data will be updated every six (6) months to document the compliance progress across the city; 311 data is integrated into the dashboard to enable DPW maintenance crews to incorporate ADA requests into sidewalk work across the city.

If the curb ramps are missing, they are shown as non-compliant – unless the crossings are not pedestrian-safe and are not going to ever get crosswalks (e.g., major highway intersections).

Design standards for compliant ramps are set by DPW and can be found on the Construction Engineer Resources page of the DPW website; inspections are required during construction to ensure ramps are built to the maximum extent feasible for compliance.

As per City Standard Drawing No. MC1 Section A-A for Concrete Sidewalk Pavement, the ½” expansion joint for sidewalk/ADA ramp specifies “premolded Joint materials or joint filler left flush with surface of sidewalk” with all expansion joints materials to be weaker than the concrete by design to prevent concrete cracking. Please report all tripping hazards and barriers to 311; DPW will inspect and determine most appropriate action to address the issue

The data on the dashboard is being updated with current information and will be updated every six (6) months to document the compliance progress

DPW Project Controls is managing the city-wide roadwork database and is determining how to overlay completed project information with ramp compliance. Currently projects in construction can be shown on the ADA dashboard, and the City is working to integrate routine data updates. Data on the dashboard is available for download.

The development of the ADA Transition Plan is funded through Bond funding.

Curb ramps are improved to the maximum extent feasible for compliance when alterations to the roadway and intersection are planned and also by request via 311. Roadwork is funded through federal sources – FEMA & FHWA – and also Bond funding; 311 requests are funded through the DPW maintenance program

DPW is reorganizing construction practices to ensure that areas are completed prior to initiating work in other areas  

Yes.

Curb ramps are incorporated into intersection work constructed through the RoadWork NOLA project and updated to the maximum extent feasible for compliance. Learn more by visiting the Projects in Construction page of RoadWork NOLA’s website here.

Other Resources

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