ADA Accessibility Program | Maine Department of Transportation

Contact the MaineDOT Title II ADA Coordinator

Theresa Savoy
Maine Department of Transportation

16 State House Station,
Augusta, Maine 04333
207-624-3238

Theresa Savoy
TTY Users dial Maine Relay 711

MaineDOT ADA Policy Statement

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibit a public entity from discriminating against qualified persons with disabilities in access to facilities and services that the public entity provides. For MaineDOT and organizations that receive funds from MaineDOT, these services, facilities, or activities are related to the planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations of transportation systems.

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 USC 794), the Maine Department of Transportation, desiring to avail itself of Federal financial assistance from the US Department of Transportation, hereby gives assurance that no qualified disabled person shall, solely because of his disability, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination, including discrimination in employment, under any program or activity that receives or benefits from this federal financial assistance.

Public entities are required by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide accessible services to persons with disabilities. For MaineDOT, "accessible services" means things like curb ramps, sidewalks, MaineDOT owned rest stops, building facilities, and public information.

Regulations pertaining to ADA Title II can be found in 28 CFR Part 35. This law requires the MaineDOT to provide a Notice of Discrimination and to provide assurance that the agency will not discriminate on the basis of ability.

To request accommodations, contact the MaineDOT Civil Rights Office at 207-624-3066 or sherry.tompkins@maine.gov

Transition plan

MaineDOT's American with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan is a living document that assesses accessibility on MaineDOT's transportation system, highlighting compliance efforts and charting a course for improvements.

Comments can be sent by clicking the "Share Your Thoughts" button below or contacting the MaineDOT Title II ADA Coordinator. Information is on the right.

Paper copies of the ADA Transition Plan are available upon request.

Read the MaineDOT ADA Transition Plan:

MaineDOT ADA Transition Plan Sept 2019.pdf

MaineDOT ADA TP Plan Sept 2019.docx

Citizens' Rights - filing a complaint

At its heart, ADA is about ensuring equity for the public. MaineDOT is committed to fostering that equity wherever possible and actively promotes awareness of nondiscrimination and accessibility requirements and resources. We will look into every request and complaint we receive and are committed to providing functional accessibility throughout the state.

Your Rights to Accessibility and Non-Discrimination

Federal law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability in any MaineDOT program or activity. This prohibition applies to all branches of MaineDOT, and agencies and organizations that receive money from MaineDOT, such as contractors, consultants, local agencies, and anyone else who acts on MaineDOT's behalf.

Request for Access to MaineDOT Programs & Activities

It is MaineDOT's objective to provide access to MaineDOT programs and activities to all individuals.

Interpretation & Translation Services: MaineDOT provides reasonable language assistance free of charge upon request. Contact the Civil Rights Office for translation or interpretation requests related to any MaineDOT public meeting or service. Access for the Visually and Hearing Impaired: Dial 711 to reach Maine Relay. MaineRelay is a free service that provides full telephone access to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or speech-disabled. Locations & Facilities: MaineDOT strives to provide services and hold meetings in locations accessible to people with disabilities. Contact the Civil Rights & Business Resource Center to make an accommodation request. Note to MaineDOT Employees: Contact the MaineDOT Office of Human Resources for issues involving ADA workplace accommodations and other employment issues.

File a Discrimination Complaint

Anyone who believes they have been excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination under any MaineDOT program or activity because of their race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability may file a complaint with MaineDOT or the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Grievance Process for Title II of the Americans Disabilities Act of 1990.docx

File a Complaint

File an ADA Complaint.docx

Resources for engineers, inspectors, contractors

MaineDOT Guidance

Useful Links

28 CFR Part 35: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services
U.S. Department of Justice: ADA.GOV
U.S. Department of Justice: ADA.GOV: Project Civic Access
U.S. Department of Justice: Disability Rights
U.S. Access Board: Public Rights-of-Way
Federal Highway Administration Civil Rights: ADA/Section 504
New England ADA Center

Federal Resources

In work zones

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act requires that pedestrians with physical or mental disabilities be accommodated during times of highway construction, utility work, maintenance operations, and the management of traffic incidents. All pedestrians, including the disabled, must be provided with safe, accessible, and reasonably convenient paths. Such accommodations should be provided when temporary traffic control (TTC) zones are planned and set up in accordance with ADA Title II, Paragraph 35.130.

For more information, see Part 6, "Temporary Traffic Control" of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways 2009 Edition (MUTCD).

Additional guidance:

Applying ADA in Work Zones: A Practitioner Guide - Fall 2012
Pedestrians Checklist and Considerations for Temporary Traffic Control Zones (PDF)
Work Zone Safety Guide Video

Curb Ramp Inventory

MaineDOT’s ADA curb ramp inventory is a living document. It will be updated where errors are found, information is collected, existing facilities are improved, and new facilities are added. Each year MaineDOT does work on its highways and intersections and that data must be tracked and the ADA inventory must be updated. MaineDOT will update this inventory annually each spring to incorporate the prior collection data and project improvements.

To view all known cub ramps on MaineDOT highways visit our MaineDOT Curb Ramp Inventory MapViewer and zoom in to the Maine map. You can click on a curb ramp and review the data that is known about the ramp. Each curb ramp has a colored symbol indicating its status for compliance.

Red indicates non-compliance Blue indicates compliance Green indicates the ramp has been updated to the Maximum Extent Feasible and has been deemed Technically Infeasible but usable. Yellow indicates that the ramp has not yet been inspected. (The City of Portland is undergoing its own ADA inventory and only those curb ramps that have been updated by MaineDOT have been updated in this inventory, all others have not been inspected by the MaineDOT)

More detail on MaineDOT and the MaineDOT inventory process can be found in our MaineDOT ADA Transition Plan

Much of our system is not fully compliant. MaineDOT will continue to work toward accessibility, but we still have much to do. Some of our existing infrastructure may never be fully compliant because of hills, slopes, existing infrastructure, historic properties, drainage, and other geographical constraints. It is our goal to achieve compliance to the maximum extent allowable given these constraints.

In the future, we will be adding data on public facilities on MaineDOT's system. As these inventories are completed, they will be added to this website. Because of COVID restrictions in 2020, our inventory process was delayed. We have updated our target dates for our Inventory Scheduled below:

Park and Ride Lots inventory (Only includes those Park and Rides owned by MaineDOT) - Completed 2021 Accessible Pedestrian Signals - 2022 Rest Areas - Completed 2021 Maine State Ferry Service Facilities and piers - Completed 2022 Sidewalk Condition Inventory begin 2023

2024 Curb Ramp Inventory (XLS)

Training

MaineDOT and the Maine chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) have been collaborating to identify areas where we are finding technical and program challenges and are developing solutions to those challenges. With a renewed focus on ADA compliance and the development of new standard details for curb ramp design, this topic was identified as a challenging area. We have developed training to educate designers and construction staff on ADA expectations, both in design and in the field.

2023

This video provides instructions for inspecting curb ramps for ADA compliance and provides an overview of the ADA Field Maps App which logs curb ramp attributes for the MaineDOT ADA Curb Ramp Inventory.

Curb Ramp ADA Compliance Inspection Training

2021

This presentation by Theresa Savoy of MaineDOT reviews the best practices for maintaining Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety during highway construction projects. This video was taken from an annual Highway Program Construction Training.

Pedestrian & Bike Safety in Work Zones Presentation

2019

ADA Compliance for Design & Construction

The MaineDOT and the Maine chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) have been collaborating to identify areas where we are finding technical and program challenges and are developing solutions to those challenges. With a renewed focus on ADA compliance and the development of new standard details for curb ramp design, this topic was identified as a challenging area. We have developed training to educate designers and construction staff on ADA expectations, both in design and in the field.

MaineDOT Title II ADA Coordinator Theresa Savoy gives an overview of why we have gathered together for the training.

Why We're Here

MaineDOT Senior Transportation Engineer Atlee Mousseau gives an overview of some of the expectations in design and construction for ADA compliance.

Expectations in Design and Construction

Theresa Savoy reviews the current ADA design standards.

Design Standards

MaineDOT Assistant Transportation Engineer Marcel Young-Scaggs covers the new MaineDOT standard details on ADA compliance for curb ramps and sidewalks.

MaineDOT Standard Details

Theresa Savoy explains documentation of ADA non-compliant facilities that are determined to be technically infeasible.

Technical Infeasibility

Mark Debowski, Greenman-Pedersen; Don Ettinger, Gorrill Palmer; and Raymond Hanf, Transportation Department Manager, HNTB, team up to review a selection of ADA case studies as a way to better understand the challenges we face in Maine.

Case Studies

Local Agency & Subrecipient Resources for ADA

Local agencies and other public entities are required to comply with 28 CFR Part 35 (Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services).

Basic ADA Requirements for Local Agencies/Public Entities:

Designate an ADA coordinator (50 employees or more). 28 CFR §35.107(a) If the local government has fewer than 50 employees, it is not required to have an ADA coordinator. HOWEVER, it is strongly recommended that an ADA coordinator or ADA designee be appointed. Develop and post an ADA policy statement. 28 CFR §35.106. Develop and post grievance procedures/complaint procedures. 28 CFR §35.107(b). Complete a self-evaluation of current programs, services, and activities. 28 CFR §35. 105. Develop a transition plan. 28 CFR §35.150(d). (50 employees or more) Transition plan requirements.

Useful Links

Entities with fewer than 50 employees are not exempt from ensuring that their programs, services, and activities are accessible to persons with disabilities. These entities are not subject to some of the same administrative requirements (designating an ADA coordinator and developing a transition plan), although it would be in their best interests to do something similar.

Department of Justice Technical Assistance Document: ADA Update, A Primer for State and Local Governments
Click Here for US Access Board Animation Videos

FHWA videos regarding the above requirements

Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies: Disability Protections Federal-aid Essentials for Local Public Agencies: Transition Plans

Accessible Electric Vehicle (EV) charging

Documents / Resources

In 2024, the State of Maine created guide for locating and installing accessible EV Charging stations and units based on the 2023 Design Recommendations for Accessible Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Maine EV Charging Guide and Check Lists: