Don’t wait to get your parking lot striped per CA Guidelines – lawsuits are being filed daily for parking lots who are not ADA Compliant
If you lease to, operate, or own a business serving the public in Los Angeles CA, then you are required to be in compliance with the ADA California guidelines and have responsibilities for both new construction and existing facilities. ADA requirements have been in effect since 1992. Therefore, regulations for facilities that were built prior to 1993 are not as strict as those that were built after the early part of 1993 or modified following early 1992.
Amount of Parking Disability-Accessible Parking Spaces
The amount of disabled parking spaces required by the ADA depends on how many parking spaces are in your garage or parking lot. For a lot that has 1 to 25 spaces, you are required to have one disabled space. You need to have two disabled spaces if you have 26-50 spaces. You will need three for 51-75 spaces; four for 76-100 spaces; five for 101-150 spaces; six for 151-200 spaces; seven for 201-300 spaces; eight for 301-400 spaces; and nine for 401-500 spaces. If you have 501-1,000 spaces, the ADA requires that 2 percent of your total spaces be disabled spaces. Parking lots with 1,001 or more spaces need to have 20 spaces as well as one space for every 100 spaces over 1,000.
Size and Placement of Parking Spaces
Your parking spaces are required to be 8 feet wide. Your parking spaces need to have enough space for the vehicle and space to the left or right for an access aisle. This aisle allows an individual in a wheelchair, or another device, to be able to get out of a van or car. The access aisle for cars needs to be 5 feet wide at least and as long as the actual parking space.
When measuring for your spaces, make sure you include the paint line’s width that separates the spaces if it is an access aisle or another space. If the disabled space is an access aisle or next to another space, measure from the middle of the line.
Your parking spaces should be closest to the entrance of your business. If the spaces that are near the entrance are on sloped or difficult terrain, select the closest area that is level. The route to your entrance should not have any steep surfaces or steps and should be slip-resistant, firm, and stable.
Spaces for Vans
Out of your total disabled parking spaces, one out of eight is required to be van accessible. These spaces need to have an access aisle that is 5 feet wide at least. There should be at least 98 inches of vertical clearance all the way around the space, all the way along to the exit and at the parking space.
Handicap Signage
You also must put up a sign that has the international accessibility symbol, which is highly recognizable with its white figure sitting in a wheelchair and blue background, position in front of the parking space and installed high enough so that a vehicle in the parking space does not hide it. Van-accessible spaces need to have a sign with a “van accessible” international symbol. The signs can be purchased by business owners at a business supply store or online.