Handicap Parking Regulations
In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law by President George Herbert Walker Bush. According to the text of the ADA, the purpose of the act was, at least in part, to "provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities." This included the establishment of federal handicap parking regulations.
Other People Are Reading
-
Establishment of Compliant Spaces
-
Under the ADA, any place of business or other location that provides parking that is available to the public must designate a number of handicap-accessible spaces proportionate to the total number of spaces available at the facility.
Definition of Accessible Parking
-
According to handicap parking regulations, to be deemed accessible, a parking space must not only have room for a car, truck or van but must also be large enough on one side to allow anyone using a wheelchair, scooter or other similar mobility device to exit the vehicle.
-
Location of Qualifying Spaces
-
Handicap parking regulations dictate that the qualifying spaces must be the spaces located closest to a building's handicap-accessible entrance. It must also be located on flat ground and must be clearly marked with a blue access sign (though there are no federal laws requiring placement of a symbol on the parking spaces themselves).
Definition of Accessible Route
-
Such parking spaces must be located near an accessible route, which means that the path to the building has no steps or extremely steep slopes and must be made out of a slip-resistant material. If the path crosses a roadway, a painted crosswalk should be provided.
Number of Spaces Required
-
According to handicap parking regulations, one out of every 25 spaces in a parking lot should be handicap accessible. Furthermore, one out of every eight accessible spaces should be large enough to safely allow a van to park there (approximately 96 inches wide).
Related State Regulations
-
These requirements are the minimum federally-enforced rules set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Individual states may or may not have stricter sets of handicap parking regulations.
-
