Signed into law in July 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) affects every property owner. Regardless of company size, all businesses must now have the proper amount of handicapped-accessible parking stalls, and required van parking spaces.
Many municipalities require a newly constructed parking lot (at commercial or large residential properties) to be striped up to ADA requirements before an operating permit is issued. In addition, they must also have a minimum number of parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of utilized facility.
When a business restripes a parking lot, it must provide accessible parking spaces as required by the ADA Standards for Accessible Design.
In addition, businesses or privately owned facilities that provide goods or services to the public have a continuing ADA obligation to remove barriers to access in existing parking lots when it is readily achievable to do so. Because restriping is relatively inexpensive, it is readily achievable in most cases.
This ADA Business Brief provides key information about how to create accessible car and van spaces and how many spaces to provide when parking lots are restriped.
Accessible parking spaces for cars have at least a 60-inch-wide access aisle located adjacent to the designated parking space. The access aisle is just
wide enough to permit a person using a wheelchair to enter or exit the car. These parking spaces are identified with a sign and located on level ground.
Van-accessible parking spaces are the same as accessible parking spaces for cars except for three features needed for vans:
 |
a wider
access aisle (96") to accommodate a wheelchair lift; |
|
|
vertical
clearance to accommodate van height at the van parking space, the adjacent
access aisle, and on the vehicular route to and from the van-accessible
space, and |
|
| an additional sign that identifies the parking spaces as "van accessible." |
One of eight accessible parking spaces, but always at least one, must be van-accessible.
(illustration showing a van with a side-mounted wheelchair lift
lowered onto a marked access aisle at a van-accessible parking space.
A person using a wheelchair is getting out of the van.
A dashed line shows the route from the lift to the sidewalk.)
Minimum Number of Accessible Parking Spaces
ADA Standards for Accessible Design 4.1.2(5)
Total Number of Parking Spaces Provided (per lot) (Column A)
Total Minimum Number of Accessible Parking Spaces (60" & 96" aisles)Van-Accessible Parking Spaces with min. 96" wide access aisle Accessible Parking Spaces with min. 60" wide access aisle 1 to 25 1 1 0 26 to 50 2 1 1 51 to 75 3 1 2 76 to 100 4 1 3 101 to 150 5 1 4 151 to 200 6 1 5 201 to 300 7 1 6 301 to 400 8 1 7 401 to 500 9 2 7 501 to 1000 2% of total parking provided in each lot 1/8 of Column A* 7/8 of Column A** 1001 and over 20 plus 1 for each 100 over 1000 1/8 of Column A* 7/8 of Column A** * one out of every 8 accessible spaces ** 7 out of every 8 accessible parking spaces
Contact Information
- Telephone
- Bill Davis, Owner - 405-317-4405
- FAX
- Postal address
- P.O. Box 155, Bethany, Oklahoma 73008
- Physical address
- 6212 NW 30th Street, Bethany, Oklahoma 73008
- Electronic mail
- For General Information, Support or Sales: aaastripingco@cox.net
