Whether you’re a homeowner or a commercial property manager, your responsibilities to keep guests and tenants safe involve more than maintaining the condition of your premises. Unfortunately, most states – including California – have significant legal and financial penalties for not adhering to building codes and other regulations.
The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) is federal legislation that provides additional rights and protections to those with a disability. There are several requirements for property owners to meet within its guidance to ensure accessibility and safety for those needing assistance.
What Is the ADA?
The ADA’s primary purpose is to protect the disabled from discrimination. It also ensures access for everyone of all abilities to access private, public, and governmental facilities and property. This act has been in effect since 1990 and covers several areas of public accommodation, including:
- Places gathering places such as parks;
- Hotels, motels, and other lodgings;
- Restaurants, grocery stores, and other locations serving food/drinks;
- Social service centers;
- Recreational areas like gyms, parks, and similar venues;
- Entertainment venues like baseball stadiums;
- Sales or rental establishments;
- Public places of display or collection like museums;
- Properties that provide services, including malls;
- Public transportation facilities;
- Recreational places;
- Educational institutions;
- Living quarters, including your home.
If a property isn’t in compliance with the standards within the ADA, the violation needs immediate correction. For example, if you own an apartment complex with a swimming pool, you should provide additional entry methods for those who cannot use ladders to get in. It’s a feature available to your entire community. However, you aren’t required to have shower handrails in all living units.
This aspect of the law is confusing for many property owners. However, a good rule of thumb is that you need to be compliant if the public can use the property or conduct business.
How to Assess ADA Compliance?
Unsure if your parking lot or sidewalk meets ADA standards at your business? Review this quick checklist that covers all the primary requirements you need to meet:
- Ramps and sloped walkways meet design and construction guidelines for accessibility;
- Ensure your parking lot has a fair ratio of accessible spaces to those that are not;
- Accessibility parking spots should meet the size requirements listed in ADA guidance;
- Use signage and brightly painted space markings to identify what areas qualify as ADA parking;
- Put accessible parking spots within a reasonable distance of the entrance of your building;
- Keep the lot and walkways in good repair to avoid hindering access to your property.
When evaluating your outdoor asphalt parking lots, walkways, and drives, always try to do so with an inspector present. Their in-depth understanding of ADA regulations will ensure you don’t miss any potential issues that need addressing. Also, before having any construction or maintenance done to these areas, speak with a commercial paving company in Antioch, CA, familiar with ADA compliance standards.
How a Commercial Paving Company Can Help?
Any commercial paving company you hire for ADA-related repairs or construction should be well-versed in compliance expectations. They should also review any blueprints you have of the property and locate fixtures, pipes, and other structures that might be in the way of their work.
The business you contract to do this work should also work with you to create a parking lot design and layout before beginning the project. It includes determining the position of parking spaces, traffic flow pattern, and the location of your ADA designated stalls.
Considerations for Adding Concrete to Your Commercial Property
Anytime you add concrete to publicly accessible areas of your commercial property, the final result must be ADA compliant – consider the following.
Handrails
If your walkway has a connecting ramp to allow visitors to access your building and has a six-inch or higher rise, you need handrails. Not just on one side of the ramp, but both. Your contractor can also determine what legally required height they need to hang out to meet all ADA requirements.
Concrete Access Ramps
ADA guidance doesn’t specify what materials to use when constructing access ramps, and you must ensure they are slip-resistant and don’t allow water to pool. Concrete is why concrete is the most popular option because it has a porous surface to absorb moisture.
Curb Ramps
Your parking lot needs to have a safe and accessible path to the entrance of your building. If a curb blocks this route, you need to install a curb ramp. It allows individuals using an assisting device like a walker or wheelchair to easily access the sidewalk and transport to your building.
Landings
When constructing access ramps, or updating them to be compliant, ensure a landing is at the bottom and top of the structure. In addition to this requirement, it must also meet these standards:
- Must be level;
- Have an equal width to the ramp;
- 60 inches or longer.
Reputable Contractors
It may seem like an obvious tip, but it bears repeating. Always choose a paving company that is not only well-versed in ADA compliance requirements but has a verifiable reputation for doing good work. If you hire a contractor that doesn’t regularly handle this type of work, and someone later gets hurt on your walkway or ramps, you could be financially liable for their damages.
It is really important for a property owner to ensure that his/her property is ADA compliant. It will keep all the legal issues and problems at bay.
