PROWAG is the U.S. Access Board’s final rule for pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way, published August 8, 2023 at 36 CFR part 1190, and it is enforceable only where another federal agency adopts it as a standard: the Access Board lists adoption by the Department of Transportation for new construction and alterations of transit stops and by GSA for its facilities, and lists no Department of Justice adoption. To review a set, record which adoption, state DOT standard, or owner requirement makes PROWAG apply to the project, then trace the pedestrian access route, curb ramps and blended transitions, detectable warnings, crosswalks, pedestrian signals and pushbuttons, transit stops, and on-street parking through the civil, signal, striping, and landscape sheets. AI can flag conflicts; the engineer of record and the agency that owns the right-of-way decide compliance.
What does PROWAG cover, and when is it enforceable?
The Access Board’s PROWAG page describes guidelines issued under the ADA and the Architectural Barriers Act that address sidewalks and streets, crosswalks, curb ramps, pedestrian signals, on-street parking, and other parts of the public right-of-way, including shared use paths. The scoping chapter covers alterations, pedestrian access routes, alternate pedestrian access routes, detectable warning surfaces, pedestrian signal heads, protruding objects, signs, street furniture, transit stops and shelters, on-street parking, passenger loading zones, stairs, escalators, and handrails, and the technical chapters cover how each is built. The guidelines say they apply to new construction and to existing pedestrian facilities only when those are altered, and that DOJ decides any application to existing facilities under the Title II program access requirement.
The eCFR’s 36 CFR part 1190 text, current to October 20, 2026, states that the guidelines become mandatory when other federal agencies adopt them as accessibility standards in their ADA, Section 504, or ABA regulations, and the preamble calls them voluntary until that happens. The Access Board’s final rule was published August 8, 2023. GSA adopted PROWAG in the Federal Management Regulation on July 3, 2024, effective September 3, 2024. DOT adopted it without modification on December 18, 2024 for new construction and alterations of transit stops in the public right-of-way, effective January 17, 2025, and a later DOT notice deferred enforcement until March 20, 2025. The PROWAG page lists those two adoptions and none by DOJ. All checked October 22, 2026; the eCFR text was read through eCFR’s API because the site’s web pages block scripted access.
Where no adopting rule reaches a project, a state DOT, city, or owner may still require PROWAG by contract or policy, so record the basis the owner names rather than assuming it applies or does not. The route continues onto the site, where the building-side standards are covered in the 2010 ADA Standards guide and the ICC A117.1 guide; check that the two sets of sheets meet at the same points.
Gather the sheets that carry the pedestrian route
Collect the civil site and roadway plans, grading and paving plans with spot elevations, curb ramp and intersection details, the traffic signal plans and pushbutton details, signing and striping plans, transit stop and shelter plans, on-street parking layouts, landscape and site furnishing plans, utility plans that place poles, cabinets, and inlets on the route, the temporary traffic control plans for work zones, and the specifications for detectable warnings and accessible pedestrian signals.
Add the owner’s statement of which standard governs: the adopting federal rule, a state DOT design manual, or a local standard that cites PROWAG.
Trace the pedestrian access route across the civil set
| Review question | Sources to compare | Decision to record |
|---|---|---|
| Governing standard | Owner requirements, general notes, roadway and civil specifications | Record which adopting rule, state standard, or owner policy makes PROWAG apply, and flag notes that cite a different basis. |
| Pedestrian access route | Grading and paving plans, profiles, utility plans, landscape plans | Follow the route along each frontage and flag where a pole, cabinet, grate, tree, or furnishing drawn on another sheet sits in it. |
| Curb ramps and blended transitions | Intersection plans, curb ramp details, grading plans, striping plans | Match each crosswalk to a ramp or blended transition drawn at the same location and confirm each ramp has a detail or designation. |
| Detectable warnings | Curb ramp details, intersection plans, transit stop plans, specifications | Check that the plans place detectable warnings wherever the details call for them and that the specification product matches. |
| Signals and pushbuttons | Signal plans, pushbutton details, intersection plans | Confirm each crossing that has pedestrian signals shows accessible pedestrian signals and pushbuttons reachable from the ramp landing drawn on the civil sheets. |
| Transit stops and on-street parking | Transit stop and shelter plans, parking layouts, landscape and furnishing plans | Confirm boarding areas, shelters, and accessible parking spaces connect to the route and are not blocked by elements drawn on other sheets. |
Site grading and drainage continue in the civil and site drawing checklist, benches and receptacles in the site furnishings specifications guide, and ramps inside the property line in the ADA ramp slope calculator and the accessibility checklist. DoD street work also follows the UFC 3-201-01 civil engineering guide.
Example: a corner rebuilt on one sheet and not the others
Hypothetical example. A downtown streetscape project rebuilds an intersection corner with a bus stop on the far side. The civil intersection plan shows a separate curb ramp for each crosswalk, but the signal plan still places the pedestrian pushbutton pole at the old single ramp, the curb ramp detail calls for detectable warnings that the plan omits at the blended transition into the alley, and the landscape plan puts a planter and a bench in the bus stop boarding area.
The signal plan locates the pushbutton pole at a ramp that the civil plan removes, the blended transition at the alley shows no detectable warning although the detail requires one, and the landscape planter and bench fall in the boarding area shown on the transit stop plan. Confirm the governing standard and coordinate the signal, civil, and landscape sheets.
The civil engineer, signal designer, and landscape architect coordinate the corner, and the owner confirms which standard governs. The finding is a conflict between sheets, not a determination that the corner complies or fails.
Review right-of-way accessibility with Groundbook
Upload the current drawings and specifications to Groundbook, and state the edition, amendments, and review scope in your instructions. PROWAG is a free federal publication: upload 36 CFR part 1190 from the Access Board or the eCFR, the adopting agency’s rule, and any state DOT or local standard the owner requires. See how Groundbook works with local and licensed codes.
Compare the civil site and roadway plans, grading and paving plans, curb ramp and intersection details, traffic signal and pushbutton details, signing and striping plans, transit stop and on-street parking plans, landscape, furnishing, and utility plans, temporary traffic control plans, and the detectable warning and accessible pedestrian signal specifications. Flag a missing or conflicting statement of the governing standard, objects from one sheet that sit in the pedestrian access route on another, crosswalks with no matching curb ramp or blended transition, detectable warnings required by a detail but missing on the plan, pushbuttons not located at the ramps the civil sheets show, and boarding areas or accessible parking that do not connect to the route. Use the supplied PROWAG text and adopting rule and cite both sources.
Groundbook links each potential finding to the sheets and specification sections involved. It does not survey grades, measure cross slopes, design signals, or decide whether a deviation applies.
Document review does not certify compliance with PROWAG, the ADA, or the ABA, and it does not replace the engineer of record, the agency that owns the right-of-way, or legal advice.