It’s not exactly the easiest thing to park in a lot that doesn’t have any lot striping in it. Sure, it can be done, but parking lot striping is an important facet of keeping the vehicles of your lot organized. You need to ensure you maximize the amount of space in your lot for visitors, that the flow of traffic through your lot is safe an efficient for cars as well as pedestrians, and simply to ensure that your lot is aesthetically pleasing. This makes parking lot striping one of the more crucial parts of any lot.
But there’s still more than just that when it comes to parking lot striping. The fact is that proper striping can also be about ensuring your commercial lot is in compliance with some very specific laws and regulations, most notably those that deal with the size, shape, and number of handicapped parking stalls. With a large number of these laws covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act — and with ADA violations so possibly costly — remaining in compliance with parking lot striping rules is more than just a good idea: it’s the law.
The Government Means Business
Commercial parking lots outside of buildings that are open to the public need to comply with ADA rules and regulations. There’s just no way around it: if you’ve got customers and visitors showing up at your place of business, your lot needs parking lot striping that contain a minimum number of handicapped stalls. The exact number of stalls will vary depending on the total number of vehicles your lot can accommodate, but it goes without saying that larger lots need more handicapped stalls.
That’s not all, though; it goes beyond just the raw number of handicapped spots. The dimensions of each stall are specific, as there are space requirements for wheelchair aisles and van-accessible handicapped stalls, all of which need to be a minimum length and width. Additionally, each handicapped spot must also be carefully labeled with signs, either mounted on signposts or directly on a building wall, at a specific height. If any of these requirements aren’t met, guess who’s on the hook for not just fixing these ADA violations? That’s right — it could be you!
The Parking Lot Striping One-Two Punch
If someone decides to report you to the ADA because your parking lot striping isn’t in compliance, you’re in for a big mess. Not only will you be legally responsible for fixing things, you’ll also be responsible for paying any fines that you incur for having gotten it wrong in the first place. In other words, you’ve got the nasty one-two punch of paying to fix the problem and paying a nice fee on top of that.
There is, of course, an easy way to avoid this. The next time you get your parking lot paving done, ensure that you get it done right the first time. Use a parking lot paver who understands the requirements that that won’t leave you high and dry. It’s worth the little bit of extra time and money up front than having to manage a major fine and re-striping cost instead!