U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division Disability Rights Section |
Through its Project Civic Access initiative, the Department has worked with over 100 State and local governments to bring them into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and, in doing so, has observed certain common problems. This publication describes how those problems affect people with disabilities and offers some suggestions for how to solve them.
The key goals of the ADA are to ensure that all people with disabilities have equality of opportunity, economic self-sufficiency, full participation in American life, and independent living. All city and county governments, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance, are covered by the ADA as "public entities." All of their activities, services, and programs are covered, including employment, public meetings, court activities, and programs of police, fire, voting, emergency management, and parks and recreation departments. When services are provided on a web site, those services, too, must be made accessible.
New Construction and Alterations: Facilities constructed or altered after January 26, 1992, must comply with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (ADA Standards), which are available online (www.ada.gov/stdspdf.htm), or the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS). Because compliance with the ADA Standards or UFAS is a matter of federal law, they must be followed, even if local codes are more lenient.
Program Access in Existing Facilities: State and local government's services, programs, and activities, when viewed in their entirety, must be readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. This standard, known as "program access," applies to all existing facilities of State and local governments. Removing barriers to access in pre-ADA facilities – or moving programs from pre-ADA facilities to newer and more accessible facilities or even providing those programs in alternate accessible ways – will ensure full and independent opportunities to participate for people with disabilities while minimizing costs. Governments do not have to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of their programs or result in an undue financial or administrative burden, taking into account all resources available for use by the program.
Common Problems with New Construction and Alterations
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People who use wheelchairs, scooters, crutches, and other with mobility aids often find that both newer and older city and county facilities have parking, routes to and through buildings, high service counters, and restrooms that are not accessible. Due to these physical barriers, some people with mobility impairments may have to rely on others to assist them when transacting their business, or they may not participate in activities in which they would otherwise be interested.
This lower service counter provides access for people who use wheelchairs. |
People who are blind or who have low vision face some similar obstacles when going to or through facilities.
Common Problem: Protruding Objects
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In "high-low" drinking fountain configurations, the "high" fountain often protrudes into a walkway and is not detectable by someone who is blind and who uses a cane. The fountains shown in this photograph are recessed into an alcove to avoid the potential for injury. |
Common Problems with Signs
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The sign in the photo on the left is mounted on the door. When signs are mounted directly on doors that open out, people who are blind or who have low vision must stand in the swing of the door to read the signs, causing a potential for injury. For that reason, room signs are always required to be placed on the wall on the latch side of the door, centered at 60 inches high. The photo on the right shows the correct placement. |
Common Problems with Parking
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Fully accessible parking, including a space reserved for those who use vans, is provided. Note the clear pavement markings, wide access aisles, and clear vertical signs. |
Common Problems with Routes to Building Entrances
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This ramp is extremely steep, it does not have handrails, and there is no edge protection. It does not provide appropriate access to the building for people with disabilities. |
Common Problems with Entrances and Doors
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This entrance is fully accessible, with a level landing, wide doors, and accessible hardware. |
Common Problems with Toilet Rooms While there are many elements of toilet rooms – and often many problems – here are some of the most common: The door is too narrow, or there is not enough maneuvering space immediately inside or outside the toilet room door for a person using a wheelchair to open and pass through the door. Ø Coat hooks and paper towel, toilet paper, soap, and other dispensers are located so that persons who use wheelchairs cannot reach them.Ø The "accessible" toilet is placed too close or too far from the wall or stall divider.The toilet flush mechanism is positioned on the wrong side of the toilet so that a person sitting in a wheelchair cannot reach it. Ø Grab bars are missing or too short.The maneuvering space at the "accessible" toilet is too narrow. Ø The sink counter is too high, or there is insufficient knee clearance.Ø The sink has exposed hot water and drain pipes, which can cause serious burns. |
All features of this toilet room comply with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. |
The door is centered at the end of a narrow hallway. People using wheelchairs are unable to open this door, as once they are close enough to reach the handle, their wheelchair will block the door from opening. Additional maneuvering clearance is required to the "latch" side of the door (in this photo, more maneuvering space is required to the right of the door handle). |
A person using this sink might be hit by someone else trying to enter the room. Doors may not swing into the clear floor space required at toilet room fixtures, such as sinks and toilets. |
The hot water and drain pipes under the sinks are not wrapped, so people who use wheelchairs and who have little heat sensation in their legs may burn themselves. |
Common Problems with Courtrooms Doors are too heavy to open. Ø No assistive listening systems are provided for people who are hard of hearing. Ø Fixed seats or benches for courtroom spectators are positioned to leave little room for people who use wheelchairs; wheelchair placement in aisles can violate fire codes.
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This courtroom is designed so everyone can use it. The jury box has space for a juror who uses a wheelchair.
Common Problems with Access to Programs, Generally Perhaps the most common form of discrimination faced by people with disabilities is when others assume that they will not be able to, or want to, participate in civic programs and activities, and build facilities or design programs without thinking through the accessibility obstacles that may arise. Ø Employment and volunteer opportunities may be limited by others' assumptions about the talents, abilities, and interests of persons with disabilities. |
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This city has extreme tidal changes. At high tide, the pedestrian walkway leading to this fishing platform is almost level; at low tide, it is very steep. Realizing that it would be difficult to keep the slope of the pedestrian walkway gentle enough to be usable by people with disabilities, the city reinforced the walkway and moved its accessible parking out to the fishing platform. Now, people with disabilities drive down the walkway and transfer in and out of their vehicles on the fishing platform. The floating platform is always level, regardless of tide. |
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The only available accessible parking space is being used as a delivery area, so no additional spaces are available to visitors with disabilities. |
Accessibility is often overlooked in programs such as voting, emergency planning, and sidewalks.
Emergency planning:
Voting:
Sidewalks
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A city provides access to its sidewalks for persons with disabilities, while also adding a raised paved area as a "traffic calming" measure. |
Common Problems with Websites When websites depend exclusively on graphics for content or navigation, then those who are blind and who use "talking" screen-reader technology may not be able to use them, as screen readers cannot interpret graphics. |
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Common Problems with Communication Information is often available in only standard print format. Ø Public meetings are often held without audio amplification or sign language interpreters, real-time transcription services, etc. As a result, those who are deaf or hard of hearing may not be able to participate fully in live presentations or interactive discussions, such as county commissioner meetings. Ø 9-1-1 systems are not equipped with TTY's (teletypewriters) or equivalent technology at each call-taking station, or operators do not consistently query all silent calls to determine if they are TTY calls. |
Local governments must ensure that the way they communicate with the public is as effective for people with disabilities as with others, unless doing do would impose an undue burden or cause a fundamental alteration.
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A court officer checks assistive listening devices for people who are hard of hearing to make sure the devices are working properly |
More Steps Toward Access....
ADA Coordinators: Ensure that you have designated a well-trained and knowledgeable ADA Coordinator, who knows the appropriate steps to take to retain sign language interpreters or obtain assistive listening devices, and how and when to transfer a program to an accessible facility. Instruct your employees to contact the ADA Coordinator if they get disability-related questions they cannot answer.
Local Resources: Involve people with disabilities whenever possible in your planning, development, and management. Good resources include local Centers for Independent Living and state-wide Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers.
Designing Facilities: When selecting design professionals such as architects and engineers to design your buildings and outdoor facilities, find out how much expertise they have with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. Do not rely solely on contract language that states that they must design your building to comply with all applicable laws, or expect that it is enough if they follow your local building code.
Certification: Encourage your building code officials to submit your building code for review and certification by the Department of Justice, if they have not already done so. Title III of the ADA authorizes the Department of Justice to certify that State laws, local building codes, or similar ordinances meet or exceed the ADA Standards for Accessible Design for new construction and alterations. Certification facilitates voluntary ADA compliance by assuring that certified State and local accessibility requirements meet or exceed ADA requirements. See "ADA Certification of State and Local Accessibility Requirements"
This document is not intended to be
comprehensive or exhaustive. For more information about the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please visit the Department
of Justice's ADA Home Page, archive.ada.gov,
or call us on the ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (voice) or
1-833-610-1264 (TTY). |
The Americans with Disabilities Act authorizes the Department of Justice (the Department) to provide technical assistance to individuals and entities that have rights or responsibilities under the Act. This document provides informal guidance to assist you in understanding the ADA and the Department's regulations.
This guidance document is not intended to be a final agency action, has no legally binding effect, and may be rescinded or modified in the Department's complete discretion, in accordance with applicable laws. The Department's guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities beyond what is required by the terms of the applicable statutes, regulations, or binding judicial precedent.