Editor’s Note: Welcome to our newest blog series, created to help NATSO members make good business decisions. Guest post contributor Brad Gaskins of The McIntosh Group will be writing monthly on the top 20 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) issues seen in truckstops and travel plazas. I'll let Brad tell you more about this exciting new series. - AT
/// Guest post by contributor Brad Gaskins, The McIntosh Group
Most travel plaza and truckstop owners are aware of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They may often wonder how it applies to them and feel overwhelmed by the requirements.
New ADA Standards went into effect March 15, 2012. ADA Title III, which prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities in places of public accommodation and commercial facilities, is the portion that most directly affects truckstops and travel plazas.
During the upcoming monthly blog series I will discuss the top 20 ADA issues seen in truck stops and travel plazas.
- Accessible route cross slopes from the parking spaces and public right-of-way.
- Parking spaces not the closest to the front door.
- Parking space slopes exceeding the allowable slopes.
- Curb ramps along accessible routes with greater than the allowable slopes.
- Lack of accessible fuel dispensers due to control heights.
- Thresholds too high at the front entry doors.
- Non-compliant sales counters due to height and width issues.
- Drink machine control heights and counter top heights.
- Cup and lid dispenser heights.
- Condiments not within required reach ranges.
- Water closet mounted to far or to close to the adjacent wall.
- Grab bars at the water closet mounted in wrong location vertically and horizontally.
- Toilet rooms signs improperly mounted.
- Toilet room mirror mounted too high from the bottom of the reflecting surface.
- Toilet room doors without proper maneuvering clearances.
- Sinks mounted higher than the allowable height and not enough knee/toe clearance under the sink.
- ATMs without operating audible instructions and no Braille instructions provided.
- Toilet paper dispensers mounted outside the allowable ranges.
- Paper towel dispensers mounted outside the allowable reach ranges.
- Fuel dispensers not on an accessible route to the front door.
I have 25 years experience in the practice of architecture. For the past twelve I’ve been principal and COO at The McIntosh Group, an architecture firm focused on providing accessibility solutions for clients nationwide. I attended my first ADA seminar in March 1992. Since then I’ve continued to educate myself and others on the ADA. I look forward to spending the next months going over the items above in detail in order to give NATSO’s members the tools and knowledge to begin the road to ADA compliance.
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Gaskins will be one of the Human Library experts available for one-on-one consultations at The NATSO Show. The Human Library is an interactive learning library on The NATSO Show floor where attendees can sign-up for 30 minute one-on-one consultations. Register for The NATSO Show here and email Kimberly Roberts at kroberts@natso.com to set-up a Human Library appointment with Gaskins. |
{Guest Post} Guest post provided by NATSO Allied member Brad Gaskins, The McIntosh Group. The McIntosh Group is an architecture firm focused on providing accessibility solutions for clients nationwide. Learn more about The McIntosh Group.
The opinions and advice given by guest post contributors are not necessarily those of NATSO Inc. The posts should not be considered legal advice. Qualified professionals should be sought regarding advice and questions specific to your circumstances.
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