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What are the ADA Parking Requirements for Van Accessible Handicap Parking
Most disabled people use modified vans to make their movement safe, independent, and convenient. It’s a requirement to have a handicapped van accessible parking and wheelchair parking in most commercial and public parking areas.
However, one must get a handicap parking permit to use the van handicap spaces conveniently. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states the van-accessible parking requirements that every developer must follow when designing van handicap space.
Medical content reviewed by Dr Eric Jackson-Scott MD, Chief Medical Officer
Keep reading to learn more about the ADA parking requirements for van-accessible handicap parking.
Help educate others about handicap parking rules and ADA parking requirements
Non-handicapped don’t understand how hard it’s for people to use ADA parking van spaces. It’s easy to squeeze themselves and get in or out of the vehicle even when the cars are closely parked together. This isn’t the same for people using handicapped modified vans or wheelchairs.
Handicap parking requirements for US Parking Area
The ADA, which stands for Americans with Disability Act, provides several provisions to protect disabled people and their van-accessible parking spaces with an accessible route. The provision has gone through several revisions and updates, with the last one having been done in 2010.
This Act stipulates several ADA parking requirements, including the location, number of van spaces, and traditional accessible parking spaces and size requirements.
Accessible parking spaces for cars
These are for standard vehicles that don’t have a wheelchair lift or ramp. The accessible parking spaces for cars are marked using the International Symbol of Access, a blue and white wheelchair symbol. The dimensions for this must be at least a 60-inch-wide aisle for easy entering and exit of wheelchair users.
Van-accessible parking spaces
These are one-sided entries and are for vehicles that have a lift or a ramp. The parking slots are marked with the International Symbol of Access, and the access aisle is stripped. The width of the access aisle should be at least 96 inches.
ADA requires at least one for every six spaces in a parking space to be van accessible. For a parking space with less than four spaces, this requirement isn’t necessary.
However, certain medical facilities may require more van-accessible parking spaces than the minimum. These include hospitals that treat mobility-related conditions and hospital outpatient facilities.
ADA parking requirements
- Location
The handicapped parking spaces must be located close to the easiest accessible route of an accessible entrance. For a building with many accessible entrances, the accessible parking spaces must be distributed regularly, and all must be located closest to the near accessible entrance.
The accessible parking spaces should be allocated at the most level ground.
The accessible entrance shouldn’t have stairs or curbs, must have a stable, firm, slip-resistance surface, and must be 3 feet wide. The slope along the accessible route should be greater than 1:12 in the direction of travel. This Act provides that van-accessible parking spaces located in parking garages can be clustered on one floor to accommodate the minimum vertical height requirement, normally 98-inch.
- Alterations
The aisles are designed so that parked vehicles don’t alter the required width for an accessible route. Most disabled people have requested to put a permanent sign to prevent non-handicapped from using these spaces. This isn’t possible since the ADA laws are written and can’t be altered.
However, the new 3D access aisle design is beneficial in this.
Conclusion
The accessible parking spaces are very beneficial to people with mobility issues. Educating society on the benefits of van-accessible parking spaces for disabled people is very important. They’ll be able to follow the rules better, making it easy for those who need these spaces.
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