Parking
Providing a spot for everyone
Tácticas
A hot topic
Many people contact the Northeast ADA Center to ask how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to accessible parking. In fact, this is one of the most popular topics that we discuss with our customers.
Who uses accessible parking?
You might recall from Tool 4: Physical Access that 17% of your customer base, according to CDC data, has difficulty with climbing stairs, walking, or seeing.[1] It is important to remember that accessible parking is not only for those people. For example, someone may be driving a person with a disability and use accessible parking to help that person into the business they are visiting.
Another important example is a person with a non-apparent disability—such as an underlying heart condition or a neurological or orthopedic impairment—that prevents them from walking long distances. These people have a right to use accessible parking spaces, assuming they have a valid accessible parking permit. Each state has its own regulations and policies related to obtaining accessible parking permits.
First impressions matter!
If your business has customer parking, you should know that providing accessible parking spaces is not only a requirement under the ADA, but also extremely beneficial to—and appreciated by—people with disabilities and their families.
More importantly, providing accessible spaces creates a great first impression of your business. Imagine a customer with mobility disabilities arriving at your business and having to travel farther than other customers without disabilities to get to your entrance. Not a good first impression, right? Not very welcoming, either. Hence the importance of accessible parking.
For many of these people, the opportunity to park in an accessible space, without a long trek to the entrance, makes all the difference and fosters a feeling of inclusion.
How many accessible spaces do I need?
The ADA Standards dictate how many accessible parking spaces are needed, based on the total number of parking spaces in the parking lot or facility. The ADA Standards includes a table (below in this topic) that makes it easy to determine the minimum number of required spaces for most businesses.
Some sites—such as hospital outpatient medical offices, rehab facilities, and residential locations—require additional accessible parking spaces. Keep in mind that you can always provide more than the minimum requirement.
ADA Standards, Table 208.2 Parking Spaces
| Total Number of Parking Spaces Provided in Parking Facility | Minimum Number of Required Accessible Parking Spaces |
|---|---|
| 1 to 25 | 1 |
| 26 to 50 | 2 |
| 51 to 75 | 3 |
| 76 to 100 | 4 |
| 101 to 150 | 5 |
| 151 to 200 | 6 |
| 201 to 300 | 7 |
| 301 to 400 | 8 |
| 401 to 500 | 9 |
| 501 to 1,000 | 2% of total |
| 1,001 and over | 20, plus 1 for each 100, or fraction thereof, over 1,000 |
Where should these spaces be located?
You can help customers to fully benefit from the parking by following these key requirements:
- Accessible parking spaces must be located on the shortest accessible “route of travel” to the entrance of your business.
- An accessible route never has curbs or stairs, and it must be at least 3 feet wide without excessive slopes.
- Where buildings have multiple accessible entrances with adjacent parking, the accessible parking spaces must be dispersed and located closest to the accessible entrances. For example, if a shopping center has a row of 15 stores, the accessible parking spaces cannot all be located at one end of the shopping center; instead, the spaces should be spread out to best serve all the stores.
Parking spaces and access aisles
The ADA regulations discuss parking spaces for cars and vans, and we give details about these spaces below.
You already know what a parking space is, but you may not have given much thought to access aisles. An access aisle is an area adjacent to a parking space that is marked off on the parking lot, so nobody parks on it (this is the striped area beside an accessible parking space). The access aisle is used by people entering or exiting vehicles and is especially useful when transferring to or from a mobility device, such as a walker or wheelchair.
How long and wide must accessible parking spaces be?
The ADA Standards do not dictate the length of accessible parking spaces, but they do regulate the width of accessible parking spaces and access aisles. The access aisle width varies for car- and van-accessible parking spaces as explained below. Always be sure to check with the local code enforcement office to make sure you comply with any unique state regulations for the design of accessible parking spaces.
Car-accessible parking spaces
Accessible parking spaces for cars must be at least 8 feet wide. These spaces must also be served by an access aisle that is at least 5 feet wide. Two accessible spaces may share an access aisle.
Van-accessible parking spaces
At least one of every six accessible parking spaces or fraction of six, must be van-accessible. For van-accessible parking spaces, the ADA Standards includes two design options. Each option provides enough additional space to enter and exit a vehicle using a lift or ramp:
- An 8-foot-wide parking space with an adjacent access aisle that is at least 8 feet wide.
- An 11-foot-wide parking space with an adjacent access aisle that is at least 5 feet wide.
Although the ADA Standards permit either option for van-accessible parking, many people with disabilities prefer the larger (11-foot-wide) parking space option, as it helps to prevent other people from illegally parking in the access aisle. This is a common complaint among users of van-accessible parking spaces—that they park their van and exit it successfully, but when it’s time to leave, someone has illegally parked in the larger access aisle. This leaves them trapped until the illegally parked car moves.
Other things to consider…
Most states have accessible parking signage requirements about illegally parking in these spaces, so check with local code enforcement to make sure you post correct signage. The ADA Standards require the International Symbol of Accessibility and if a space is van-accessible, an additional sign that states “Van Accessible.” If a lot has four or fewer parking spaces (including any accessible parking spaces), identification of accessible spaces with these signs is not required.
Terminology matters
We would not be helping you create a welcoming environment at your business if we didn’t address the elephant in the room when it comes to the terminology.
Sometimes, people refer to accessible parking by talking about “handicapped” parking. Many people don’t realize that “handicapped” should never be used to describe accessible parking. This is because “handicapped” is an outdated and offensive term. It is more appropriate and helpful to use language that emphasizes accessibility rather than the presence of a disability.[2]
This is true not just for describing accessible parking, but for anything related to people with disabilities.
References
[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2023, May 15). Disability impacts all of us.
[2] ADA National Network. (2018). Guidelines for writing about people with disabilities.