Do I Need Temporary Accessible Parking?

[arwat23]

At an existing facility, do I need to provide temporary accessible parking while altering the existing accessible parking?

Example: Let's say the slope of a parking space is too steep. You need to level it out. It'll take two weeks to do the work. The building is still open to the public and business are operating during the alteration. Since there is a reduction in the number of parking spaces while the alteration happens, would that be an issue?

What if the accessible parking count exceeds the minimum count required by code and there's still enough spaces to meet the minimum count during the alteration?

A few weeks an inspector told me they wouldn't allow alterations to some existing non-complaint accessible parking space unless I provided some temporary spaces while the accessible spaces were unavailable. This is the first time I've been told something like that, so I'm curious if I'm missing something in code that would prevent the temporary reduction in accessibility to correct issues.

 

[Joe.B]

11B-108 Maintenance of accessible features. Features, facilities
and equipment required by Chapter 11B to be accessible
to and useable by persons with disabilities shall be maintained
in operable working condition. Isolated or temporary
interruptions in service or accessibility due to maintenance or
repairs shall be permitted.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

11B-108 Maintenance of accessible features. Features, facilities
and equipment required by Chapter 11B to be accessible
to and useable by persons with disabilities shall be maintained
in operable working condition. Isolated or temporary
interruptions in service or accessibility due to maintenance or
repairs shall be permitted.

Is there any definition of or guidance on what constitutes "temporary interruptions" in this context? Absent anything other than what you have quoted, my knee-jerk reaction would be that taking ALL the accessible parking out for a day or two might be acceptable, but to remove ALL accessible parking for two weeks while the businesses they serve remain open seems like a non-starter to me.

 

[arwat23]

Is there any definition of or guidance on what constitutes "temporary interruptions" in this context?

Nothing as far as I've seen. There's an advisory from DSA, but it doesn't explicitly define what "temporary" means in this context.

 

[Joe.B]

The reality is that it's not for the building department to decide. It's up to the business, what's worse for them? Can they afford to risk losing a couple of weeks of business? What are the chances they get sued? If they did get sued, then the judge is going to decide what constitutes temporary. The building inspector needs to stand back and say "cool, thanks for showing me that code section, have a great day."

 

[mark handler]

Is there any definition of or guidance on what constitutes "temporary interruptions" in this context? Absent anything other than what you have quoted, my knee-jerk reaction would be that taking ALL the accessible parking out for a day or two might be acceptable, but to remove ALL accessible parking for two weeks while the businesses they serve remain open seems like a non-starter to me.

IMPO, two weeks is a "temporary interruption".
A brief disruptions in a process, activity, or service that are not permanent

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

If we were discussing the blocking of a required means of egress for two weeks during an interior alteration, would two weeks be allowed because it's temporary?

This is a situation on which the code isn't "silent," but it also isn't cut-and-dried. The code requires that buildings be maintained in accordance with the code, so I don't agree that the building department has nothing to say about it. However, I think it's very much a judgment call on the part of the buildjng official.

 

[Joe.B]

If we were discussing the blocking of a required means of egress

But we aren't, are we.

Where's the thumbs down "dislike" icon?

 

[arwat23]

The code requires that buildings be maintained in accordance with the code, so I don't agree that the building department has nothing to say about it.

Fair enough, but then how would we "maintain" the parking without temporarily blocking it? The previous owner used asphalt for the accessible spaces, so if we want to maintain it we'll probably need to level it out every few year. I'm in a very seismically active area - these parking spaces were fully compliant 3 years ago and were corrected / brought into compliance about 7 years ago. Or if we switch to concrete, which is what we normally like to do since that lasts longer, we'll still need to block those parking spaces off for at least a couple of days.

I'm just wondering how do we maintain something that isn't always possible to maintain without restricting access to the feature for a little bit.

 

[Joe.B]

But we aren't, are we.

Where's the thumbs down "dislike" icon?

I meant this to be sarcastic and cheeky, no offense intended.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

Fair enough, but then how would we "maintain" the parking without temporarily blocking it? The previous owner used asphalt for the accessible spaces, so if we want to maintain it we'll probably need to level it out every few year. I'm in a very seismically active area - these parking spaces were fully compliant 3 years ago and were corrected / brought into compliance about 7 years ago. Or if we switch to concrete, which is what we normally like to do since that lasts longer, we'll still need to block those parking spaces off for at least a couple of days.

I'm just wondering how do we maintain something that isn't always possible to maintain without restricting access to the feature for a little bit.

I understand and I completely agree that maintaining something is going to require performing periodic repairs. That's not the issue. The issue is when accessibility is required -- by federal law and by state code -- how long is a reasonable time for accessibility to be removed in order to perform maintenance?

The opening question just says "the businesses" will be operating while the repairs are being made. What type of businesses? Are these businesses that may be essential for people in wheelchairs, like their doctor's office? What alternate arrangement can be made during the repair period? At my local supermarket, there are two entrances, and there are a few accessible parking stall delineated near each entrance. A few years ago, the store resurfaced a portion of the parking lot that included one set of accessible parking spaces. The other set remained in service. Even if they had only one set of accessible parking spaces, the entire lot is essentially level (at least within the 1:48 cross slope parameter for accessible parking), so they could easily have erected a couple of accessible parking signs with the posts stuck in buckets of sand and created temporary parking reserved for people with mobility impairments.

But what if the parking lot isn't level? What if the site design had to really manipulate the grading in order to create the required number of accessible parking spaces with a cross slope not exceeding 1:48? What if the accessible spaces are near the accessible entrance, but all other spaces are remote? To what degree is it acceptable to materially inconvenience people with mobility impairments for maintenance -- or even effectively bar them from the premises? This is why I think it's a judgment call. At my former job, we had a nursing home that needed to make some alterations. The work required temporarily blocking a required fore exit. We sat down with the nursing home staff and the contractor and came up with a work plan that substantially reduced the length of time the exit would be unavailable, and the nursing home worked it out with the Fire Department to post a fire watch during that span.

I don't see why something comparable can't be done for parking lot repairs. I've seen a lot of parking lot repairs over the years and, to me, two weeks seems like a VERY long time.

FWIW, I reached out to the ADA regional assistance center serving my corner of the country. The specialist I talked to said she wants to consult a board member before committing to an answer, but she said she is almost certain that the business will have to designate some alternate parking spaces as reserved for accessible parking while the repairs are in progress. She said she will send me an e-mail when she has a more definitive answer. If I receive an update, I'll post it.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

The person at the ADA regional assistance office wants to know how many total parking spaces are on the property, and how many accessible spaces.

 

[arwat23]

The person at the ADA regional assistance office wants to know how many total parking spaces are on the property, and how many accessible spaces.

There isn't a specific project for this yet. My question came about due to what an inspector told me a few weeks ago. That project is complete now, and I honestly don't have a complete count of spaces for that property (not my project, I was just filling in for someone).

I just know this will come up again on a future project since probably more than 75% of my projects require path of travel upgrades.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

Take a guess. If I don't tell her how many spaces and how many accessible spaces, I don't think I'm going to get an answer.

 

[arwat23]

Take a guess. If I don't tell her how many spaces and how many accessible spaces, I don't think I'm going to get an answer.

Here's some random numbers I though of off the top of my head:

1. 190 spaces, 10 accessible, at any point 4 accessible will be unavailable due to improvements.

2. 10 spaces, 1 accessible, all accessible unavailable during improvements.

3. 500 spaces, 9 accessible, 2 accessible unavailable for improvements.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

I'm going to go with #2. Options 1 and 3 don't match the original question, and both leave the majority of the accessible spaces available.

 

[Yankee Chronicler]

The ADA technical assistance office just called me back with some answers. As is often the case, the answer is "It depends."

• If ALL spaces are being repaired and the entire parking lot is closed to public use, the answer is that there is no discrimination so no temporary accessible parking needs to be provided. There is no time constraint on how long the repairs can take or how quickly they must be performed.
• If only a portion of the parking lot is being repaired (including the accessible parking spaces) and there will be standard spaces open and available to the public, then there must be some spaces temporarily designated as accessible parking spaces for the duration of the time when the permanent accessible spaces are out of service. There is no time constraint -- if the accessible spaces are out of service, alternate accessible spaces must be provided.

This seems entirely logical to me.