ADA Requirements: An Accessibility Compliance Overview
Posted by
Leah Riley, Nov 14, 2017
Meeting the requirements of the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), the federal law that prohibits
discrimination against people with disabilities, is essential to any
construction project. During our compliance reviews, we encounter
violations because the ADA’s accessible design requirements are
misunderstood or overlooked. The following is a very general
overview of some of the ADA’s requirements.
Photo by Joel Martinez
The ADA’s Title III prohibits discrimination by
private entities operating as places of public accommodations. The
rules implementing the ADA, the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design
(2010 Standards), incorporate the
2004 ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) that contain
new construction and alterations accessibility scoping and technical
requirements.
Bathrooms
Some bathroom accessibility requirements are
regularly omitted. Periodically, we see bathroom plans that are ADA
compliant but the bathroom elements are installed improperly during
construction. The 2010 Standards have detailed requirements for
bathrooms that can be found in ADAAG
Chapter 6: Plumbing Elements and Facilities.
There are very specific requirements for the
toilet compartment area. For example, the water closet must be
located between 16” to 18” from the side wall or partition, and the
clearance area must be 60” perpendicular from the side wall and 56”
perpendicular from the rear wall for wall mounted toilets (clearance
can overlap elements specified in the section).
Grab bars must be placed on the side walls
adjacent to the toilet as well as the rear wall. There are also
detailed requirements for the grab bar dimensions, length, height
placement, and spacing from the wall.
Also relevant to bathrooms, are the
requirements for toilet seat heights (17” to 19” above finished
floor), flush controls (toilet’s open side), toilet paper dispenser
location, urinals, sinks, bathtubs, showers, soap dispensers, hand
dryers, and waste receptacles. Some of the common errors we see on
our site reviews are flush controls not placed on the open side,
trash cans placed in the toilet clear floor space, hand dryers
protruding more than 4” into the accessible route, and pipes under
the sink that are not protected.
To learn more about the ADA’s bathroom
requirements read our posts:
Commonly Overlooked ADA Bathroom Requirements and
ADA Restroom Requirements: What is Wrong with This Picture?
Elevators
Elevators accommodating the needs of people
with communication and mobility disabilities must be provided
whenever vertical accessibility is required in a building covered by
the ADA. The specific ADA requirements for elevators are contained
in
Section 407 of ADAAG Chapter 4: Accessible Routes
(Section 206.2.3 has some exceptions to the elevator requirements).
Elevators must be free of obstruction, have
visible and audible signals indicating such information as elevator
direction and which elevator car is arriving, contain doors that
remain open for a minimum of three seconds, and
have buttons (interior and exterior) within wheelchair user reach
range, and buttons with accompanying tactile characters and Braille.
Additional information about elevator
requirements is contained in our blog post
ADA Building Requirements for Elevators
Handrails
Handrails are also an important consideration
when providing accessibility. Section 505 of ADAAG
Chapter 5: General Site and Building Elements contains
the ADA’s handrail requirements. Handrails must be placed on
accessible route ramps with a rise greater than 6 inches and
stairways (new construction or replacements during alteration).
Handrails must be on both sides of stairs and ramps run.
Handrails must also be at a consistent height.
The top of the gripping surface must be between 34-38 inches above
walking surfaces, stairs, or ramps. It is also important to have a
clearance of a minimum of 1 ½ inches between a handrail and the
wall.
For more details, read our post
Are You Complying with the ADA’s Handrail Requirements?
Ramps
The ADA’s detailed ramp requirements are found
in Section 405 of ADAAG
Chapter 4 Accessible Routes. Ramps are required when
there are level changes a ½ inch above a floor or ground surface,
and they must be adjacent or in close proximity to routes used by
the general public.
The ramp’s running slope (direction of travel)
can be no more than 1:12 and the cross slope (perpendicular to
running slope) should not be more than 1:48. Additionally, a ramp
should have a rise of no more than 30 inches maximum.
Landings that are level and as wide at the ramp
must be at both the bottom and top of the ramp. Edge protection is
required on the side of ramp runs and landings.
You can find more about ADA ramp requirements
in our post
Are You Compliant with the ADA’s Ramp Requirements?
Parking
If you’re working on a building with public
parking, you will need to be aware of the ADA’s parking
requirements. Section 208.2 in
ADAAG Chapter 2 specifies the minimum number of
accessible parking spaces required in parking lots and structures
(see chart - Table 208.2) based on the total number of parking
spaces in a parking facility. There are specific requirements for
van parking spaces as well as additional accessible parking spaces
in special types of facilities, such as hospital outpatient
facilities.
The technical requirements of accessible
parking spaces may be found in Section 502 of
ADAAG Chapter 5. For example, accessible parking spaces
must be at least 96 inches wide (van spaces must be at least 132
inches wide unless the access aisle is 96 inches or wider) and
markings are to be used to show the parking space width.
Accessible parking spaces require an access
aisle that meets specific requirements and is located next to an
accessible route. There must be a mounted handicapped sign placed in
the front of each space, at least five feet off the ground. This
also includes a sign stating a fine designated by the authority
having jurisdiction. All van-accessible spaces should have “van
accessible” marked on their signs.
Find more information on parking requirements
in our blog post
ADA Parking Space Requirements: What is Wrong With This Picture?
Other Areas to Remember
When we conduct our accessibility compliance
reviews, we periodically see violations of the ADA’s standards for
objects extending into circulation paths. It is essential to comply
with the
ADA’s requirements for protruding objects to avoid
injuring anyone with a visual impairment. For example, an object
that is above a cane detection area (more than 27 inches) and lower
than the headroom clearance area (below 80 inches) cannot extend
more than 4 inches horizontally into a path (handrails 4 ½ inches).
Another common violation we come across is the
failure to comply with the requirement that the
push side of swinging manual doors and gates have a smooth
surface at the bottom a minimum of 10 inches in height from
the finished floor or ground. Often, we see hardware protruding too
low from the door bottom’s push side.
It is critical to check all of the ADA’s
detailed requirements as part of your project. Also, always remember
that state and local jurisdictions have their own accessibility
requirements that may be stricter than the ADA’s standards. It is
essential to be familiar with the state and local requirements that
pertain to your jurisdiction as well as the federal standards.
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