New buildings

Building a new building is a perfect opportunity to include accessibility and avoid the architectural barriers that people with disabilities confront in many older buildings. This is why the ADA requires all new public accommodations and commercial facilities to comply with design standards called the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (ADA Standards). These Standards make buildings and facilities usable by people who are blind or deaf or have limited dexterity or grasping ability, as well as people who have mobility impairments.

The aim is to ensure that all commercial buildings and facilities built in the United States since 1992 are accessible to and usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. The ADA sets accessibility standards for parking lots, sidewalks, entrances, corridors, hotel guest rooms, built-in seating in restaurants, service counters, handles and switches, public telephones, and many other features. Complying with the ADA Standards allows customers or employees who have disabilities to enter a building or site, move through the halls or circulation paths, access the areas where goods and services are provided or where they perform their work, and use the restrooms and other amenities that are provided.

When ADA requirements are met during construction, the additional cost of the accessible features is generally minimal. In contrast, retrofits done after construction can be very expensive and disruptive. That is why it is important for you as a business operator to remind your architects and contractors about the importance of complying with the ADA, especially at the early stages of planning a project.

The ADA and state or local building codes

Most new buildings and facilities have to comply with state or local building codes. Typically, building code officials review plans to approve construction and inspect the new facility several times before work is completed. In contrast, there is no inspector for the ADA. The building owner and those responsible for design and construction are responsible for complying with the ADA.

Many local codes contain accessibility provisions, but they are separate from the ADA Standards. To be sure that the construction complies with the ADA as well as the building code, both sets of requirements need to be followed. Fortunately, many of the accessibility requirements are similar. Where there are differences, it is best to follow the requirements that will result in greater accessibility.

To make things simpler, the ADA allows state and local governments to submit their accessibility provisions to the Department of Justice for a determination as to whether they are equivalent to the ADA requirements. When the provisions are certified as equivalent to the ADA, the building code inspection process ensures compliance with the building code and also serves as rebuttable evidence that the building complies with the ADA.

Requirements for new construction

All newly constructed buildings and facilities used by businesses and nonprofit agencies must comply with the ADA Standards. These Standards specify what elements and spaces must be accessible, how many of a particular element must be accessible, and how to make spaces and elements accessible.

Examples of new construction

The owner of a growing hotel business decides to build a new facility. The owner knows the facility needs to be accessible but does not know what to do. He goes to the ADA Website or calls the ADA Information Line to determine what must be done. He learns that the ADA has requirements for:

• Accessible parking,
• Accessible entrances and exits,
• Accessible sales and service counters,
• Accessible guest rooms with features for guests with mobility impairments and for guests who are deaf or hard of hearing,
• Accessible recreational spaces such as swimming pools, and
• An accessible route that connects all of these elements and spaces.

The owner asks the architect and contractor to study the requirements and to make sure the project complies with the ADA.

A restaurant owner decides to build a new restaurant, with indoor and outdoor seating areas. She figures the indoor seating area is surely covered by the ADA, but she is not sure about the outdoor seating area. She reviews the ADA Standards and the regulations for businesses on the ADA Website or calls the ADA Information Line, and learns that both indoor and outdoor seating areas must be accessible.

When a building is expanded, the completely new spaces or elements that are constructed as part of the addition must meet the ADA Standards for new construction. The term “addition” refers to any expansion, extension, or increase in the gross floor area of an existing building or facility. An accessible route from the existing space to the added space is usually required.

Renovating, remodeling, or altering an existing building

Businesses renovate, remodel, or alter their spaces all the time. The ADA uses the term “alteration” to mean any change to an existing building or facility that affects usability. This includes remodeling, renovation, rearrangements in structural parts, and changes or rearrangement of walls and full-height partitions. The ADA does not consider normal maintenance, reroofing, painting, wallpapering, asbestos removal, or changes to electrical and mechanical systems to be alterations unless they affect usability.

When passed in 1990, the ADA did not require that all existing buildings be retrofitted for accessibility immediately. Instead, it relies on planned alterations and barrier removal to improve accessibility in older buildings over time. It says that when you alter an existing facility in a way that affects usability, the areas or elements being altered must comply with the ADA Standards.

The standards for alterations are not always as strict as the standards for new construction. The section of the ADA Standards that discusses alterations describes many situations where less stringent provisions are allowed. In addition, the ADA recognizes that sometimes existing structural conditions cannot be modified without removing or altering a load-bearing member that is an essential part of the structure, or sometimes an existing physical or site constraint prohibits modification or addition of accessible features that comply fully with the ADA Standards. In these cases, you must comply with the provisions of the ADA Standards to the “maximum extent feasible.”

Primary function area

Any area where people carry out one or more of the major activities for which a facility is used is considered to be a “primary function area” under the ADA. For example, offices and other areas where employees work are primary function areas. The dining area of a restaurant, the guest rooms in a hotel, the meeting rooms in a conference center, the customer service area of a gift shop, and other areas where the public is served are primary function areas.

Hallways and restrooms usually are not primary function areas. Neither are mechanical rooms, boiler rooms, janitorial closets, employee lounges, locker rooms, or supply storage rooms.

When a primary function area is altered, the areas and elements being altered must, of course, comply with the ADA Standards as discussed previously. In addition, because the area being altered is a primary function area, the following requirement also applies.

The route and amenities that serve a primary function area

A core concept in determining if a building is accessible or not is the path a person travels in getting from the parking area or sidewalk into the building, to the areas where he or she works or is served as a customer, and to the restrooms and other amenities that are provided in the facility.

When a primary function area is altered, the path of travel to the altered area and the amenities serving the altered area must be made accessible, unless the costs for these changes are disproportionate. The costs for the added alterations are considered disproportionate if they exceed 20 percent of the cost of the overall alteration. In this case, you should make as many of the changes as you can without going over the 20 percent limit. Use this order of priority: entrance; route to the primary function area; at least one unisex restroom or one restroom for each sex serving the area; public telephones serving the area; drinking fountains serving the area; other elements.

Exceptions: (1) When the only features being altered in a primary function area are the windows, hardware, controls, electrical outlets, or signage, there is no requirement to make the additional improvements discussed above. (2) When simply removing barriers, there is no requirement to make the additional improvements discussed above.

Examples of alterations

The lavatory in one of the restaurant’s toilet rooms needs to be replaced. Since only one fixture is provided, the new one must be selected and installed so it complies with the ADA Standards. The owner asks the plumber to check the ADA Standards before installing the lavatory. The new lavatory is mounted at the correct height, has an accessible faucet, has adequate knee space below, and the water lines, valves, and drain pipe are covered to prevent injury.

A restaurant owner leases space in an existing building. The owner plans to transform a large area into the dining room, meeting all ADA requirements. Because the dining room is a primary function area, he will also make accessibility improvements in the rest rooms for the dining area.

A café decides to renovate part of a dining area. The plans call for building a raised platform for the eating area. After checking the ADA Standards the business adds a ramp to the raised eating area. The width of the ramp, ramp slope, edge protection, and handrails are built to comply with the ADA Standards.

A hotel owner hires a company to restripe the lines in its parking lot. The contractor has a Department of Justice publication saying that the new lines need to meet ADA because restriping is considered an alteration that affects the usability of the parking lot. The hotel owner goes to the ADA Website to verify this and finds out that it is true. When the new lines are painted, the layout of the spaces is adjusted to include a van-accessible parking space and other accessible parking spaces that comply with the ADA Standards.

Summary

• The ADA requires all commercial buildings and facilities built in the United States since 1992 to comply with design standards called the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (ADA Standards).
• The ADA Standards cover parking lots, sidewalks, entrances, corridors, hotel guest rooms, service counters, toilet facilities, handles and switches, and many other features, elements, and spaces.
• There is no inspection process for the ADA. The building owner, as well as those responsible for design and construction, is responsible for complying with the ADA.
• When a state or local building code’s accessibility provisions are certified as equivalent to the ADA Standards, the building code inspection process ensures compliance with the building code and also serves as rebuttable evidence that the building complies with the ADA.
• When a building is expanded, the completely new spaces or elements that are constructed as part of the addition must meet the ADA Standards.
• When you alter an existing facility in any way that affects usability, the areas or elements being altered must comply with the ADA Standards. The standards for alterations are not always as strict as the standards for new construction.
• A core concept is the path a person travels in getting from the parking area or sidewalk into the building, to the areas where he or she works or is served as a customer, and to the restrooms and other amenities that are provided in the facility.
• When a primary function area is altered, the path of travel to the altered area as well as the amenities serving the altered area must be made accessible, unless the costs for these changes are disproportionate. The costs for the added alterations are considered disproportionate if they exceed 20 percent of the cost of the overall alteration.

Common barriers

Many older buildings have architectural features that are barriers for people who have disabilities. Some are obvious impediments such as curbs, steps, narrow doors, or narrow pathways. But there are many other, less obvious barriers. 

• Doorknobs and operating mechanisms that require tight grasping or pinching can be barriers for people who have limited manual dexterity. 
• Deep pile carpeting on floors or loose gravel on exterior walkways is a barrier for people who use wheelchairs, scooters, or walkers.
• Many signs are useless for people who are blind.
• Audible alarm systems are useless for people who are deaf.
• Public telephones, drinking fountains, mirrors, and paper towel dispensers are often mounted too high, making them unreachable by people who use wheelchairs or scooters.
• Wall-mounted light fixtures that are mounted at head height and extend more than four inches from the wall, or other objects that overhang or protrude into a walkway can be a hazard for people who are blind or have low vision.
• Within a building, movable elements such as furniture, equipment, or display racks can be barriers if their location blocks an aisle or hinders a person's ability to move around.

A common misconception about the ADA is that older buildings are not covered, they are "grandfathered." This is not true. If your business serves the public, you must remove barriers in existing facilities based on the following considerations.

Removing barriers

Removing or correcting barriers can be simple and inexpensive in one facility, but difficult and costly in another. For this reason, the ADA sets out a flexible rule for removing barriers.  You must remove physical barriers in existing facilities to improve accessibility where it is "readily achievable" to do so.  Barrier removal is considered "readily achievable" when it can be easily accomplished, without much difficulty or expense.

"Readily achievable"

What is readily achievable is determined on a case-by-case basis, relative to a particular business's resources and existing barriers. Something readily achievable for your business may not be readily achievable for the one next door, because of more limited resources or more difficult physical constraints.  And, what is readily achievable when your business is doing well may not be readily achievable in a down cycle when business is slow. A barrier that cannot be removed when business is slow should be reevaluated when business improves.

If you have more barriers than you can afford to remove all at once, you can spread the work out over time. Removing barriers is an ongoing responsibility, so you should reevaluate the barriers in your facility every year to determine which ones to remove.

Priorities

In evaluating what barriers need to be removed, you should give first priority to getting customers with disabilities in the door. The second priority is providing access to the areas where you provide goods and services to the public. The third priority is providing access to the restroom facilities that are provided for customers' use.  Lastly, you should eliminate any other physical barriers you have. 

Limits

The ADA does have limits for barrier removal. While shops may need to rearrange racks and shelves, restaurants may need to rearrange tables, and hotels may need to rearrange furniture or potted plants in order to permit wheelchair access, businesses are not expected to reduce the amount of furniture or display racks to the extent that it results in a significant loss of selling or serving space.

In removing barriers, you never have to do more than is required under the standards for alterations.

The following list of 20 ways to remove barriers and improve accessibility comes from the Justice Department’s ADA regulations. It is provided for guidance, but the list is not exhaustive.

Solutions for removing barriers

1) Installing ramps;

2) Making curb cuts at sidewalks and entrances;

3) Repositioning shelves;

4) Rearranging tables, chairs, vending machines, display racks, or other furniture to create adequate maneuvering space;

5) Repositioning telephones;

6) Adding raised letter and Braille signage on elevator control buttons;

7) Installing flashing alarm lights;

8) Widening doors;

9) Installing offset hinges to widen doorways;

10) Eliminating a turnstile or providing an alternative accessible path;

11) Installing accessible door hardware;

12) Installing grab bars in toilet stalls;

13) Rearranging toilet partitions to increase maneuvering space;

14) Insulating lavatory pipes under sinks to prevent burns;

15) Installing a raised toilet seat;

16) Installing a full length bathroom mirror;

17) Repositioning the paper towel dispenser in a bathroom;

18) Restriping a parking lot to create accessible parking spaces;

19) Installing a paper cup holder beside an inaccessible drinking fountain;

20) Removing high pile, low density carpeting.

Architectural standards for removing barriers

In identifying and removing barriers, you should use the ADA Standards for Accessible Design as a guide.  If compliance with these standards is not readily achievable, you should take other readily achievable measures, as long as they are safe.  You are not expected to compromise legitimate safety requirements when determining how to remove or correct a particular barrier. 

Examples

The owner of a hotel decides to widen the door to the small gift shop off the lobby.  Because of space and cost constraints, she is unable to install a wider frame and door to achieve the full 32-inch clearance required under the ADA Standards. However, by switching to offset hinges with the existing frame and door, she can widen the clearance from 28 inches to 30 inches.  The 30 inch door clearance does not pose a significant risk to the health or safety of individuals with disabilities or others and is permitted when the normal 32-inch clearance is not readily achievable.

The owner of a small restaurant decides to use a portable ramp when people with disabilities want to enter or exit. In order to be safe, the ramp will have railings, edge protection, and a firm, stable, nonslip surface, and it will be properly secured. The owner also decides to install a bell so a customer can call for assistance when needed.  This kind of arrangement is permitted when the installation of a permanent ramp is not readily achievable, as long as the portable ramp is safe. 

Difference between "barrier removal" and "alterations"

Removing barriers is an ongoing obligation that is not tied to renovations, capital improvements, or alterations. From the ADA's perspective, if you have physical barriers that can easily be removed or corrected, you should go ahead and remove them.

The rules for alterations apply when you are making physical changes or improvements to your place of business.  From the ADA's perspective, when you decide to modify, alter, or change an element or space that affects the accessibility or usability of your facility, that activity creates an opportunity – and an obligation – to comply fully with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design.

Learn more about tax incentives for businesses that improve facility access in the Cost Issues section.

Summary

• If your business serves the public, you must remove barriers to improve accessibility in existing facilities where it is "readily achievable" to do so. 
• Barrier removal is an ongoing obligation.
• You should give first priority to measures that enable people with disabilities to get in the door, followed by measures that enable them to get to the areas where you provide goods and services. The next priority is access to the rest room facilities that are provided for customers' use. Lastly, you should eliminate any other barriers you have. 
• You are not expected to reduce the amount of furniture or display racks to the extent that it would result in a significant loss of selling or serving space. 
• In identifying and removing barriers, you should use the ADA Standards for Accessible Design as a guide.
• If compliance with these standards is not readily achievable, you should take other readily achievable measures, as long as they are safe.

Offering goods and services in other ways

When a barrier prevents access to your business’s goods or services and removing it is not “readily achievable”, the ADA expects you to offer your goods and services to people with disabilities in other ways that are “readily achievable.”

Priority should be given to methods that provide access and participation in the most integrated fashion possible, but sometimes it may be necessary to use alternatives that are less desirable.

A restaurant located on a narrow sidewalk with a flight of steps up or down to its entrance may be unable to install a ramp or a lift because of cost or site constraints. They can make their goods and services available to a customer with a disability by providing curb-side service or home delivery.

Another restaurant is unable to make its main entrance accessible, but is able to make a side entrance accessible. The restaurant locates its accessible parking on the side near the accessible entrance and posts signs so that customers  can find the accessible parking and entrance.

An old hotel offers a fitness facility in the basement, which is accessed only by a flight of stairs. It is not readily achievable to install an elevator or other accessible means of entry to the basement, so the hotel converts a storage room on the first floor into an additional, small fitness room with a few pieces of equipment from the basement, and moves the items from the storage room to the basement.

The operator of a gift shop can assist a customer by retrieving merchandise from an inaccessible part of the shop.

You may not charge people with disabilities higher prices to cover the cost of providing service in an alternative way. For example, a restaurant may not charge a person who uses a wheelchair extra for home delivery when it is provided as the alternative to barrier removal.

Businesses that provide curb-side service should install a buzzer or bell so the customer can signal for service.

Summary

• When barrier removal is not readily achievable, the ADA expects you to offer your goods and services to people with disabilities in other ways that are readily achievable.
• You may not charge people with disabilities higher prices to cover the costs of providing service in other ways.

Usability

It's great to have accessible features, but you have to make sure they remain usable! Cluttering an aisle with merchandise or seasonal displays makes it unusable, as does piling snow in accessible parking spaces or allowing staff or customers without disabilities to park in them. A toilet becomes inaccessible when the grab bar is loose or when supplies are stored in the accessible toilet stall. Newspaper sales boxes can block access to a ramp or door.

You are responsible for maintaining the accessibility of your business’s facilities and equipment. All the equipment and features that enable people with disabilities to access your goods and services must be maintained in good working order. When accessible features are blocked or broken, your business is no longer accessible.

Accessible features

The path a person with a disability takes - starting from the sidewalk or parking lot and going to the places where your business provides its goods or services or other amenities for customers (such as restrooms) – is called an “accessible route.” This route must remain accessible and must not be blocked by obstacles such as furniture or potted plants.

Special holiday displays are fun for everyone, but they should not obstruct the accessible route needed by customers with disabilities.

Accessible equipment

Accessible equipment should also be maintained in good working order and be available for use by customers. Broken elevators or lifts do not provide access. When equipment is temporarily out of service for maintenance or repair, you should repair it as quickly as possible and, in the meantime, find other ways to make your goods or services available to customers with disabilities.

Temporary interruptions

The ADA recognizes that isolated or temporary interruptions in access due to maintenance or repair of accessible features are sometimes unavoidable.

Staff awareness

You should emphasize to your staff the importance of maintaining an accessible environment for customers with disabilities. When your employees understand this, your business will operate more smoothly and your compliance with the ADA will be smooth.

Summary

• You are responsible for maintaining the accessibility of your business’s facilities and equipment.
• When accessible features are blocked or broken, your business is no longer accessible.
• Isolated or temporary interruptions in access due to maintenance or repair of accessible features are allowed.
• During temporary interruptions, you must find other ways to make your goods or services available to customers with disabilities.

You must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of your business where customers are normally allowed to go. Service animals are dogs that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities. If your business has a "no pets" policy, you must typically make an exception to the policy when a customer has a service dog.

You must also consider making a reasonable policy modification to allow an individual with a disability to use a miniature horse that is trained to provide assistance to the individual. Factors to consider include the type, size, and weight of the miniature horse and whether your facility can accommodate these features; whether the individual has sufficient control of the animal; whether the miniature horse is housebroken; and whether legitimate safety requirements that are necessary for safe operation will be compromised.

You do not need to allow species other than dogs or miniature horses (for example, monkeys, rats, ferrets, snakes, cats, pigs, full-sized horses, ponies) in your facility, regardless of whether the animal performs tasks for an individual with a disability (unless you allow other customers to have such animals in your facility as pets).

If you are not sure whether an animal is a service animal or a pet, you may ask the person if his or her animal is a service animal or ask what tasks the animal has been trained to perform. However, you should not expect the person to show a special ID card for the animal and should not ask about the person’s disability. Many uncomfortable situations can be avoided by educating staff about the rights of people who use service animals. The U.S. Department of Justice’s publication ADA 2010 Revised Requirements: Service Animals provides additional information on this subject.

Most people are familiar with guide dogs that help people who are blind to get around safely. But there are many other services that animals are trained to provide for people with a wide range of disabilities. Animals can be trained to pull a wheelchair or retrieve objects for people who use wheelchairs, alert people who are deaf to sounds in the environment, alert people with epilepsy to an impending seizure, help people with autism to stay focused, and perform many other tasks. Most people with disabilities who use service animals find the animals essential for coping with situations in everyday life.

If a service animal is out of control and presents a direct threat to others, you may ask the customer to remove it from the premises.

If you operate a hotel, motel, inn, or other place of lodging, you must take steps to ensure that people with disabilities can find out about the accessible features of your facility and effectively make reservations for accessible guest rooms. ADA requirements that will take effect on March 15, 2012 include:

• Individuals with disabilities must be able to make reservations for accessible guest rooms in the same manner and during the same times as others, whether by telephone, in person or through a third party.
• You must identify and describe accessible features of the facility and the guest rooms in enough detail that an individual with a disability can assess whether the facility will meet his or her needs. Information, including photos or other images, may be posted on Internet sites or included in brochures or other materials. Customer service staff should be trained to respond to specific inquiries about the features of the facility, including accessible routes to and through the facility; details about the configuration of accessible guest rooms and bathrooms; the availability of accessibility equipment or features such as bath benches, or visual alarm and alert devices for guests who are deaf or hard of hearing; and the accessibility of common spaces such as meeting rooms, lounges, restaurants, swimming pools, or fitness centers.
• Accessible guest rooms must be held back until all other rooms of that type have been rented.
• When reservations are made for accessible guest rooms, the specific rooms must be held for those individuals with disabilities, and the rooms must be removed from the reservation system. Because there are relatively few accessible guest rooms in a particular hotel, and the rooms may have different features (for example, some mobility-accessible rooms have bathtubs and some have roll-in showers), this provision is designed to reduce double-booking and help ensure that a room with the specific features needed is available upon the guest’s arrival.
• If you make rooms available for reservations through third parties, such as travel agents or Internet-based reservation services, you must provide accessible rooms to at least some of the third parties and you must provide information about the accessible features of the facility and the guest rooms.

Summary

• You can broaden your market appeal and boost your customers’ satisfaction by implementing a reservation system that helps travelers with disabilities find and reserve guest rooms that meet their needs, and help ensure that those rooms are available for them when they arrive.