| Initiative | Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) |
| Comment Number | OL-100443 |
| Status | Catalogued |
| Classification | Substantive |
| Submitted Type | CW Web Form |
| Commenter Type | Private Citizen |
| Organization | Walnut Creek Golf Courses |
| Received | 05/26/2005 05:28:38 PM |
| Document Date | |
| Remarks | |
| Pages | |
| Category | Standard Web Form |
|
| Commenter |
| First Name | Last Name | State/Province |
| Randy | Ballinger | IN |
|
|
| Comment Period Start | 9/30/2004 |
| Comment Period End | 5/31/2005 |
| Phase | Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) |
| Comment Instructions | NEW ALTERNATIVE PROCESS AVAILABLE: As described in its Announcement of Alternative ADA ANPRM Comment Process, as of May 16, 2005, the Department permits commenters who wish to restrict access to their identity to send their comments to a special new mailing or electronic address. At this address, commenters’ business and personal names and addresses will be removed before their comments enter the comment processing system. Comments must initially include the sender’s name and address and must follow all of the instructions set forth in the announcement.
The Department of Justice (Department) is issuing this ANPRM in order to begin the process of adopting revised ADA standards consistent with Parts I and III of the revised guidelines implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (ABA), published by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) on July 23, 2004, at 69 FR 44083. You may submit electronic comments though this form or through www.regulations.gov. The Department strongly encourages you to read the ANPRM before submitting your comments. Unless you use the new alternative process, you may address all written comments concerning this ANPRM to P.O. Box 1032, Merrifield, VA. 22116-1032; please note that courier and overnight deliveries will not be accepted at this address. Unless you use the new alternative process, comments submitted in written or electronic form are available to the public in their entirety, including personal information.
Using this form: The fields for your full name and address, marked with asterisks, are required fields. You cannot proceed with your comment unless you fill in these fields. You may select one or more of the 54 questions posed by the Department in the ANPRM and type your answer to the question in the space provided. There are two ways to select a question: you may either enter the number of the question that you want in the box provided and click on the "Retrieve Question" button, or you may scroll through the questions listed by topic, click the question you want to select, and then click on the "Retrieve Question" button. In addition, you may choose to type a comment in the "General Comments" box provided below (4,000 characters available). You may also submit a comment as an attachment at the end of this form.
Inspection of Comments: All comments will be available throughout the comment period to the public online at WWW.ADAANPRM.ORG and, by appointment, during normal business hours, at the office of the Disability Rights Section, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, located at 1425 New York Avenue, Suite 4039, Washington, D.C. 20005. To arrange an appointment to review the comments, please contact the ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) and (800) 514-0383 (TTY). |
| Initiative Type | Federal Rulemaking |
| Agency | U. S. Department of Justice |
|
| Initiative | Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) |
| Subject | Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) |
| Docket ID | CRT Docket No. 2004-DRS01 |
| Short Title | Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services; Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities |
| Rule | Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services; Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities |
| Rule Citation | 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36 |
| Published Info | September 30, 2004
View Announcement of Alternative ADA ANPRM Comment Process (HTML)
View ANPRM (HTML) View ANPRM (PDF)
View Notice to Extend Comment Period (HTML) View Notice to Extend Comment Period (PDF)
(Download Adobe Reader) |
| Description | Description??? |
|
| Attachments | No Attachments |
|
|
|
| File Name | OL-100443.htm |
| File Extension | .txt |
| File Size | 4227 |
| Comments | Answers to Specific Questions
6-To whom it may concern: I did not have strong feelings either way on the necessity of accessible carts on Golf Courses. I do see potential opportunities for some golf facilities but certainly not all. I also have deep feelings for those who need special adaptive devises. We did have a single rider cart at our facility in the early 90's for a period of 2 years. This cart was a prototype for a company out of England. The owner of the company wanted to patent and sell these carts in the USA. Apparently another company started producing a cart very similar to his and things got tied up in litigation over the patent and his did not materialize. I was doing testing for him and contacted the local ADA representatives and had several people visit and operate the cart. I had a front page picture and a full article in "Breaking New Ground" a publication from Purdue University that advocates adaptive devices for the farming community. Our testing period was an enlightening experience. The thing that I was disappointed in, during the time we had the cart, we did not have the first golfer that would try and use the cart! We received quite a bit of publicity on the cart and certainly we contacted several ADA organizations and invited people out, but none of the contacts could find a person willing to try the cart in a round of golf. The other thing that we found, the limitations of the people that we visited with varied so widely that I do not feel that one or two carts on a golf course would accommodate the people that might come to play. And certainly with my experience, the potential play did not justify the expenditure required, furthermore and more important to me, the potential disappointment of someone that might want to use our cart but might find the cart unsuitable for his or her disability would be worse than not having an “accessible golf car” for this person to try. In almost all cases, the visitors with disabilities came with a much more sophisticated car or chair that was adapted for their particular need and did not want to re-adapt to one that we might purchase. We did not get the first player in the two years we tested the cart. I am sure that we are not the best representative sample of golf facilities, because we are in a relative rural area. I feel that making every course buy one of these carts is not very wise use of capital, and in most cases will not serve the market very well. I feel that these carts need to be customized to the person's disabilities. In my experience, I would rather give free greens fees to someone that has an ADA approved cart than invest $6000 to $10,000 in an accessible cart. Certainly the damage that might be done to the course by someone bringing their own cart onto my course would not out weigh the cost of providing and storing such a cart that in our case, was not used in two years. It seems as though small business must bear the cost of everyone’s wants. It has been proven in my case that the need was not here for an adaptive cart. It also was proven in my testing period that one cart does not fit all and most people that need such a cart already have invested in one that would be suitable for golf. (I might add, they are often paid for by tax dollars or insurance dollars either of which come from the public’s pockets) Until a more suitable solution is found, I ask you to please do not require golf courses to purchase adaptive carts. I feel that this cause is more driven by the manufacture than by the need. I worked with a potential manufacturer of these carts and know first hand what is happening. I also saw the dollar signs that the manufacturer sees if this mandate is passed. As a golf course owner that needs more play I certainly want to do anything possible to find new market segments, but this is not going to help either the person with a disability or my facility. It is certainly not what anyone in central Indiana wanted during my testing period. I do feel now after my experiences that this would not be in the best interest of either the business owner or the potential patron. Randy Ballinger INGCOA Chapter President
General Comments
|
| Version Date | 5/26/2005 |
| Remarks | |
| File MIME Type | text/html |
|