Going to the mall is fun. Lots of shopping and great people watching. Many malls host seasonal events and some even house movie theaters. With all the choices in restaurants, malls are a great place to meet up with friends and have a meal. They’re also a reliable refuge and a nice diversion when the weather is bad
But it’s no fun if there’s no place to park your van and get out.
This is where the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) comes to the rescue. Signed into law in 1990, the ADA has provided the guidelines for parking accessibility and all businesses and shopping centers have to comply.
Here is what the ADA says about accessible parking places in shopping centers.
“Businesses or privately owned facilities that provide goods or services to the public have a continuing Americans with Disabilities Act obligation to remove barriers to access in existing parking lots when it is readily achievable to do so. Because re-striping is relatively inexpensive, it is readily achievable in most cases.”
At this point, most locations require that businesses provide their parking lot plan to their respective municipalities before they can receive a permit to get their parking lot work done. This layer of enforcement and oversight pretty much guarantees that today’s parking lots and structures are ADA compliant. That said, the sheer amount of traffic that a shopping center receives can compromise the quality of the striping, the condition of the asphalt, and presence of appropriate signage – all of which can inadvertently render a parking lot non-ADA compliant.
Here are the specific van protocols:
- The access aisle is set at 96″ to accommodate a wheelchair lift.
- The maximum slope allowed is 1:50 in all directions
- Vertical clearance can be no less than 98 inches. This includes the van height at the van parking space, the aisle adjacent to the parking space, and the vehicular route to and from the van-accessible space.
- Regarding signage: the international symbol of accessibility and a sign that identifies the parking spaces as “van accessible” must be present and mounted high enough so the sign can be seen when your vehicle is parked in the space
- One of eight accessible parking spaces, but always at least one, must be van-accessible.’
- Regarding the location of the van parking spots, the ADA says: “They must be located on the shortest accessible route of travel to an accessible facility entrance. Where buildings have multiple accessible entrances with adjacent parking, the accessible parking spaces must be dispersed and located closest to the accessible entrances”
If you encounter accessibility barriers for your vehicle in an existing parking lot, or if you see a parking lot being striped that does not appear to follow these rules, contact us at Access Advocates.
Image courtesy of Flickr, Brave Heart