As part of our advocacy, #OneAccesibility, we will share information about differently able and profile one location with accessible trails. Look out every week for this enlightening post.
The ADA Act became law in the United States in 1990. It protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination and ensures access in five main areas:
- Employment Rights
- Public Services
- Public Accommodations
- Telecommunications
- Miscellaneous other Protections
This second article will focus on Public Accommodation. This aspect of the ADA Act ensures access to the built environment. These constructed aspects are the most likely features for a Local Guide to document, in words and in photographs. The development and selection of these enforceable standards are managed by the US Access Board and are enforced on both new and existing construction. In the United States, the International Building Code, ICC and ANSI are responsible for the bulk of enforceable ADA standards.
New Construction: Done right from the beginning
With new construction, ADA compliance is managed primarily through municipally managed review of building plans. Plans which do meet ADA compliance are approved for construction. If requirements are not met, plans are rejected and sent back for modifications in order to make them ADA compliant, then re-reviewed for approval (hopefully!)
Even with these processes, it is also possible for accessibility features to be misused.
For example, Town Pump convenience stores have built 3 new locations in my town recently. There is an ADA compliant low counter integrated into their high-counter checkout area. However, at all new locations, within weeks of opening, these low counters were completely filled with a permanent display case for hot food.
While the original counter design was ADA compliant, their repurposing of the low counter means there is no area which provides accessibility to persons in wheelchairs. This aspect of their stores is no longer ADA compliant.
Existing Construction: Retrofitting and Upgrades
Chapter 11 of the International Building Code (used across the US) requires 20% of the budget for commercial remodel projects to be earmarked for improving accessibility. This provision guarantees that proper building maintenance and upgrades come with a certain measure of increased ADA compliance, which upgrades over time as needs change and standards evolve.
This Bank of America location in the Seattle area provided signage to the accessible entrance at the front of the building, as well as in the drive-through. I found this second location particularly thoughtful. Many handicap features inside and around the building were retrofitted - features clearly much newer than the construction of the building itself.
With many larger organizations responsible for multiple buildings, such as colleges, cities, and schools, accessibility upgrades are often designed to take place in phases.
On the whole, the move towards accessibility is both encouraged and enforced through the provisions of the ADA Act. Documenting these features on Google Maps is helpful to the population that most benefits from knowing where their needs are being served, and credits those locations who invest and maintain ADA compliance for the efforts they take.
Do you have a question, suggestion or contribution, feel free to comment below. Read last week’s roundup here.