How To Make Sure Your Parking Lot is ADA Compliant - Arnold Asphalt

ADA is very important for users’ safety. Here are the requirements to ensure you’re within the guidelines.

How Many Accessible Parking Spaces Must Your Property Have?

According to the ADA, every public parking lot has to have at least one handicap-accessible space for cars. Once you have the one, the number of additional accessible spaces increases based on the total number of parking spaces in the parking lot (1 space per 25 spaces; 2 spaces per 50 etc.) Parking lots must also have a van-accessible space – and the car-accessible space can double as a van-accessible space provided the correct measurements are used.

Measurements and Specific Striping

Your contractor will know the details but suffice it to say that immediately adjacent to the accessible parking space there must be a No Parking area – termed an Access Aisle – and this Access Aisle must be marked as such with crosshatch striping. This provides space for a person with disabilities to maneuver with a walker or wheelchair once outside the vehicle. Parking stalls are only part of the ADA requirements of which property managers need to be aware. A designated Accessible Route is required, which also must be striped appropriately. This route must be the shortest possible from the parking lot to an accessible entrance; must be at least 3 feet wide; must have no stairs or curbs; must have a firm, stable, slip-resistant surface; and must have a slope no greater than 1 in. over 12 ft. in the direction of travel.

Rules for a Reason

The point is this: The federal ADA Guidelines are a fairly complex set of rules that often require cross-referencing of definitions and comparison with state or local requirements. Rather than tackle the task of sorting out what your property needs and then trying to include those needs in a bid spec, it’s well worth your while, both from a dollars-and-cents standpoint and a peace of mind standpoint, to hire a contractor who is an ADA expert to tell you what your property needs. If you really want to make sure you’re compliant, contact a local advocacy organization for people with disabilities. They’ll be more than happy to visit your property and help you and your contractor determine where accessibility improvements are needed.

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