May 27, 2010

Re: FTA Complaint Number 09-0292

Dear [name withheld]:

This letter responds to your complaint against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad. The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Office of Civil Rights is responsible for civil rights compliance and monitoring, which includes ensuring that providers of public transportation are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) implementing regulations at 49 CFR Parts 27, 37, and 38.

In your complaint, you describe the difficulty finding accessible parking spaces at Metro-North’s Tarrytown Station. Specifically, you state that Metro-North does not provide enough accessible parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of the Tarrytown station.

Specifications for accessible parking spaces are found in the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) adopted as regulatory standards by DOT. The minimum number of accessible spaces depends on the total number of parking spaces provided in the parking facility. Based on FTA’s May 2004 ADA Key Station Assessment process, it was determined that Metro-North was required to provide at least a minimum of two (2) accessible parking spaces at the Tarrytown Station. Your complaint stated that the transit provider has designated three (3) accessible parking spaces at the Tarrytown Station. Therefore, Metro-North was in compliance with ADAAG requirements at the time of the Key Station Assessment and is still in compliance based upon the information provided in your complaint. Please note that Metro-North owns a limited amount of parking at the station, and the Village of Tarrytown owns the majority of the remaining commuter parking, which is outside FTA’s jurisdictional reach. Additionally, in the time since you filed your complaint with FTA, the Tarrytown station was scheduled for complete reconstruction beginning summer 2010, using Recovery Act funds.

We regret your difficulty accessing parking close to the station. Based on the above, we are taking no further action and are closing your complaint as of the date of this letter. If you have any questions regarding our decision, please contact myself or Aaron Meyers at (202) 366-3055 or via e-mail at aaron.meyers@dot.gov. Any future correspondence should reference FTA Complaint No. 09-0292. Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. I regret that I am unable to be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

John R. Day
Acting ADA Team Leader
Office of Civil Rights