What Are the ADA Compliance Guidelines in Las Vegas?
Businesses in Las Vegas are required to comply with a dizzying array of building codes, local ordinances, state laws, and municipal fire codes if they want to avoid possible fines or penalties. However, one of the most challenging areas for many business managers and owners involves ADA compliance in their parking lots.
What Is ADA Compliance?
In 1992, the federal government passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, a comprehensive legislative package meant to secure the civil rights of handicapped individuals. The ADA was amended in 2008, and it has been updated five times. The ADA guidelines covered a wide range of topics, including requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for disabled applicants and employees, requiring retailers to make sure that aisles in their stores met minimum width requirements, and specifying the slope and run of both interior and exterior accessible ramps. As a rule, if you are in full compliance with the federal guidelines, you are ADA compliant in Las Vegas. The ADA also contains detailed guidelines for parking lots at businesses, organizations, and agencies that are open to the public.
What Are Some of the ADA Compliance Guidelines Pertaining to Parking Lots?
The ADA is very specific about your parking lot layout, signage, and parking lot striping, so it is impractical to cover the guidelines in detail in one article. Therefore, what follows is a list of common mistakes that can be parking lot violations.
1. You must provide accessible parking spaces that satisfy the minimum requirements. The minimums are determined by the total number of spaces in your parking lot design. For example, if your parking lot can accommodate between 501 and 1,000 vehicles, 2% of the total spaces must be accessible; of these accessible spaces, one in eight must be van-accessible spaces, while the other seven are only required to be car-accessible spaces.
2. Access aisles that run the entire length of the space must be provided next to accessible parking spaces. Access aisles must be at least 96 inches wide for van-accessible spaces, and they must have a minimum width of 60 inches for car-accessible spaces.
3. Accessible spaces must be located as close as possible to an accessible entrance. The route between the entrance and the spaces should be free from all obstacles.
4. Pavement markings and permanent signs must be used to identify accessible parking spaces. Although the ADA does not require pavement markings to identify access routes, many businesses choose to provide them.
5. The pavements should be level and free from damage that could be hazardous to people using canes, crutches, motorized scooters, wheelchairs, or other mobility aids.
6. If curbs, landscaping islands, or sidewalks lie within the access route, then ADA-compliant ramps must be installed.
If you have additional questions about becoming ADA compliant in Las Vegas, contact Affordable Striping. We are a highly respected, locally owned company that specializes in parking lot maintenance. Our services include parking lot layout, asphalt sealcoating, parking lot design, traffic signs, parking lot striping, and asphalt crack repairs. Our experienced, highly trained crew members are ready to assist you, so contact us today for a free quote. You can submit your request by filling out the online form, calling 702-222-9009, or emailing Estimating@AffordableStriping.com.
