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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Similar Standards
By Dr. Gary Presswood, PE | May 2, 2008
The Americans with Disabilites Act or ADA, is essentially an attempt to extend civil rights protection to disabled persons. Approved by Congress in 1990, the ADA became a major force in standards of building design and maintenance. Although many courts have taken the stance that in a law-suit, only those persons the ADA is designed to protect may benefit from its standards (i.e., disabled persons), one has only to read the “Purpose” of the ADA to arrive at an opposing opinion. I contend the ADA has clearly also become a Federally mandated augmentation of building codes by requiring nearly all buildings and sites to be designed for “accessible” use, regardless of one’s abilities or disablilities.
There are numerous areas of relevance for the ADA; however, for purposes of this discussion, only Title III of the ADA is discussed herein. Title III pertains to places of “public accommodation,” essentially, commercial establishments such as office buildings, grocery stores, mini-marts, basically all retail centers. Similar provisions for multi-family residences such as condominiums and apartment buildings are also mandated by the Fair Housing Act (as amended in 1988) which requires all residential buildings of four or more units under one roof, built for first occupancy after March 13, 1991, to comply with design parameters similar to those of the ADA. To complicate matters further, even portions of condominium developements and apartment complexes may also be under the dictate of the ADA if those areas are used for commercial use, such as rented gathering spaces used for meetings, parties, etc.
“Reasonable accommodation” is a term used both in the ADA and FHA. It refers to the requirement that reasonable standards or accommodations are to be put in place for applicable buildings or facilities. In the case of the FHA, the number of units and the date of “first occupancy” apply; however, except for specific variations such as historical significance and structural limitations, the ADA has no “grandfather clause” as many in the past, have incorrectly assumed. Without question, paragraph 36.304 within Title III of the ADA requires that, “A public accommodation shall remove architectural barriers in existing facilities.” Within the ADA, various improvements are even suggested assuming the barriers are, “able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense.”
It is clear then, that the various design mandates for ramps, signage, location of obstructions (e.g., overhanging signs, lights, etc.) become not only design standards to protect the disabled of our society (the preferred term is “disabled,” not “handicapped”), but are also required extensions of local building codes. Imagine a building permit issued by a local entity which fails to consider the ADA (or similar Acts). My experience has been that a deficient local building code or plan review will not fare well against a substantiated allegation of ADA non-compliance. The best and safest scenario then becomes one in which the entire project (site and building) is designed, constructed, and maintained with the relevant and Federally mandated standards having been considered.
Consider as examples, a movie theater which requires steps in order to access the only available seating area, or a restaurant which allows only counter access, “handicap parking” spaces located far from a building’s main entrance, or even a raised karaoke stage accessible to all but wheelchair-bound performers. All these examples are likely violations of Title III of the ADA and may cost property owners in the loss of customer revenue and/or the defense of lawsuits. In many cases, these deficiencies also become safety hazards for all persons. Consider concrete wheelstops or parking bumpers placed within a parking lot along a normally accessible route, or incorrectly designed and constructed speed bumps installed without consideration of sight or mobility-impaired persons. Many of these conditions are not only potentially hazardous elements for disabled persons but also become tripping or other hazardous issues for others.
Site and building safety can then be improved simply by applying reasonable principles which shoud be common to all. A critical evaluation of buildings and facilities may not only provide a safe environment but could also secure the desired ulitimate “customer friendly” experience.
Topics: ADA, Building Codes, Falls, Safety |