Just like it says in our name, our team at Coastal Contract Hardware provides a wide variety of hardware to outfit your business facility. We carry everything from doors and doorframes to lockers and mailboxes, and our selection also includes handicap parking signs. Our experts want to help you keep your business up to code, so in this article, we’ll be going over more of what you need to know about handicap parking in order to keep your facility compliant with the ADA.
- Location- Handicap parking spaces should be located as close to the entrance as possible, so that people with limited mobility have the least possible distance to traverse in order to enter your establishment. Due to related mobility concerns, the space should also be on level ground. In addition, each parking space should have a handicap parking sign placed at the front on a pole, which should be tall enough to be seen over any car that is parked there.
- Clearance- Since the point of handicap parking is to help disabled individuals access your facility, the regulations that govern it also require a certain amount of clearance around the space in order to make room to unload a wheelchair or other assistive device. A handicap parking space must be placed next to an aisle that is at least 5 feet wide for this purpose.
- Van Access- There are also requirements concerning handicap parking for mobility vans, which are larger than many standard vehicles. If you only have one handicap parking space in your lot, it must be large enough to accommodate a van, and also have enough room for the van’s wheelchair lift to deploy correctly.