ADA Building Requirements for Parking Lots
While working on a project, developers need to keep a close eye on ADA building requirements. Even those developers working on parking lots must keep these requirements in mind as they design their project. The ADA requirements for parking spaces deal with issues ranging from vertical clearance to the surface materials on the ground around the parking spots. These requirements address much more than where the spots are simply located.
The ADA building requirements are very specific about where the spots should be located as well as other issues. All of the accessible spots must be clearly marked with signs, including special signs noting van accessibility. These signs must not be blocked by a vehicle when it is in that spot. If the parking lot is for a business or other facility, the spots must be located as close to the entrance as possible. If the parking lot is not attached to a business, the spots must be located as close to the pedestrian exits as possible. Buildings with several entrances can have several parking spots for this purpose.
The spots themselves must be at least 96 inches wide. They should be adjacent to an aisle that leads to the facility’s entrance, and two parking spots cannot share the same aisle. Additionally, developers need to pay attention to the surface materials and slopes. The slopes cannot exceed two percent in any direction, and the surface materials must be ones that provide enough traction for people who have trouble walking and enough glide for those in wheelchairs. These aisles that run parallel must also be at least 60 inches wide and 20 feet long.
The vertical clearance of these areas must also meet certain requirements. For instance, the loading zones must be at least 114 inches high, and the route from the parking spot to the building’s entrance must also be that high. However, other spaces only need to provide a vertical clearance of 98 inches.
Meeting the ADA building requirements is an essential part of creating a project that meets all of the codes that are required by the law. However, it can be difficult to ascertain which requirements each project needs to meet to be compliant. The professionals at Burnham can help to guide your project through this process.
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Tags: ada building requirements, ADA Interpretation, ADA Revisions