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Improving
Accessibility And Compliance
Under The ADA And ABA
New design guidelines issued by the U.S. Access
Board in July set the stage for improved accessibility and compliance under
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The guidelines will serve to
update the design standards that must be met under the ADA, as well as an
earlier law, the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA), which requires access to
facilities financed with Federal money.
Known as the ADA and ABA
Accessibility Guidelines, they are the culmination of a comprehensive,
decade-long process to overhaul the design criteria used to ensure access to
the wide range of facilities covered by these laws when built new or
altered.
In reviewing and revising its
guidelines, the Access Board sought to ensure that they remain up-to-date in
meeting the needs of people with disabilities, a growing and increasingly
diverse population. Equally important, the Board undertook revisions to make
the guidelines easier to understand, follow, and meet. This dual goal of
enhancing both access and compliance underlies many of the changes to be
found in the updated version.
The Board also worked to
harmonize its guidelines with model building codes and industry standards to
further ease compliance. To this end, the Board coordinated extensively with
model code groups and standard-setting bodies so that differences could be
reconciled. As a result, the Board’s guidelines and access provisions of key
counterparts, such as the International Building Code, are largely
consistent.
HOW THE GUIDELINES WERE
UPDATED
The original ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) were published in 1991,
one year after the law took effect. Several years later, the Board initiated
its update process by organizing an advisory committee to review the
guidelines and to recommend changes. By naming such a committee, the Board
ensured significant input on both the substance and shape of the new
guidelines from a broad spectrum of stakeholders at the outset of the
process.
The ADAAG Review Advisory
Committee’s 22 members included representation from facility operators and
managers, the building and design industries, disability groups, the codes
community, and others. Included among its members were representatives from
the Building Owners and Managers Association, the International Facility
Management Association, and the American Institute of Architects. After
meeting extensively over a period of two years, the Committee submitted its
report to the Board that effectively constituted a complete draft of the new
guidelines.
The Board’s guidelines, like
most Federal regulations, must be made available for public comment before
changes can be finalized. The Board issued a proposal to update the
guidelines according to the Committee’s recommendations along with some
changes of its own. During an extended comment period of six months, the
Board received over 2,500 comments from all segments of its varied audience.
This input further shaped and improved the final version published last
July.
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES
The updated guidelines feature a new look, numbering system, and
organization designed to improve their usability and to make them more
structurally consistent with model codes. Various provisions have been
editorially revised for clarity. A sampling of some of the substantive
changes helps illustrate how accessibility has been enhanced and issues of
compliance addressed.
Reach
Ranges
Many fundamental specifications, such as the width of accessible
routes and the slope of ramps, remain unchanged. However, one significant
change to what the guidelines refer to as the “building blocks” of
accessibility involves reach ranges. The original guidelines specified a
greater range for side reaches (54 to 9 inches) than for forward reaches (48
to 15 inches). The new guidelines lower the side reach range to be
consistent with the range for forward reaches. This change, strongly
endorsed by comments from persons with disabilities, will better accommodate
persons with limited arm movement and those of short stature. Exceptions are
included for certain elements and controls, such as gas pumps, that cannot
easily meet the lower range.
Work
Areas
The new guidelines enhance coverage of employee work areas. The
original ADA guidelines specified that work areas be on an accessible route
so that persons with disabilities can approach, enter, and exit the space.
In addition to this, the new guidelines also require the accessibility of
circulation paths within sizable (1000 square feet or more) work areas. They
also address accessible means of egress from work areas and connections for
visual alarms. Incorporating greater access in work areas as part of design
and construction will make accommodation of employees with disabilities
easier.
Assembly Areas
Provisions have been revised where compliance has been especially
problematical. New specifications for wheelchair spaces in assembly areas
provide a good illustration. Under the original ADAAG, there has been
confusion and complaints about wheelchair access in various types of venues
from stadiumstyle theaters to major sports arenas. Issues have focused on
adequate lines of site, including over standing spectators, and comfortable
viewing angles. The new guidelines clarify and enhance provisions for lines
of sight from wheelchair spaces so that people with disabilities are
afforded a level of access that is comparable to that provided other
patrons.
In the course of its review, the
Board received information from the International Association of Assembly
Managers, Inc. and others indicating that the vast majority of wheelchair
spaces in large stadiums and arenas go unused. This information included a
twoyear study of major assembly areas. The required number of wheelchair
spaces in large facilities has been lowered based on this and other data.
The new guidelines specify that at least 0.5% of the seats be wheelchair
accessible, instead of 1%, in assembly areas with over 5,000 seats. A
slighter reduction is specified for smaller assembly areas with more than
500 seats.
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Copies of the new guidelines and related
information are available from the Board,
including through its web site at
www.access-board.gov. The Board also
provides technical assistance and training
on its guidelines. |
Press
Boxes
The guidelines are responsive to issues that have arisen in
providing access to certain types of structures, such as press boxes. The
design and elevation of press boxes, including those located atop bleachers,
have posed significant challenges to providing vertical access. The
guidelines include an exemption for certain press boxes based on size,
elevation, and location where access would be difficult or
disproportionately costly.
ATMs
and Fare Machines
When ADAAG was first issued, ATM technology was relatively new.
Since then, there have been technological innovations that help incorporate
improved access features for persons with vision impairments, such as
audible output. The guidelines include new specifications for such features
which were refined through significant input received from ATM
manufacturers, the banking industry, and persons with vision impairments.
WHEN WILL THE NEW
REQUIREMENTS TAKE EFFECT?
It will take some time before the changes of the new guidelines become
mandatory as part of the standards that must be met under the ADA and ABA.
Both laws specify that new or updated design requirements first be
established by the Board in guideline form. The Board’s guidelines do not
directly apply to the public but instead set the baseline for enforceable
standards maintained by other agencies, such as the U.S. Department of
Justice under the ADA. It is the standards that the public must follow.
These agencies will update their standards according to the new guidelines.
In doing so, they will indicate when the updated standards will take effect.
Until that time, the existing standards used to enforce the ADA and ABA are
to be followed.
Dave Yanchulis has been an
accessibility specialist with the Access Board since 1988. Active in the
development and update of the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, Yanchulis
provides technical assistance and training on these guidelines and serves as
the Board’s coordinator of public affairs. |
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