ADA parking lot compliance cost: a priced checklist

The table lists what to check on an existing lot and what each fix costs in the calculator. Ramps, panels and signs are priced each, markings per stall and a route ramp per foot. Every job also carries $500 of mobilization, and the calculator's $750 minimum job is a floor: it sets the price only when the lines add up to less.

The EstiCube guide to ADA parking lot striping requirements already covers the space-count table for every lot size, the van ratio, the car and van space and aisle widths and the 98 in van clearance, so this guide does not repeat them. In short: the count is set for each parking facility, at least one of every six accessible spaces is a van space, every accessible space gets a marked access aisle, and the striping guide is the place to check the widths and the full count table.

In the calculator, a car space costs $75 to mark and $290 for its sign on a post, $365 in all. A van space costs $95 to mark, $290 for the sign and $35 for the VAN ACCESSIBLE plaque, $420 in all. The Access Board's guide says accessible spaces must be identified by signs with the International Symbol of Accessibility, that signs must be at least 60 in high measured to the bottom edge, that van space signs include the term van accessible, and that a site with 4 or fewer spaces in total does not need a sign on its accessible space.

Slope is the item a paint crew cannot fix. Both ADA.gov and the Access Board say accessible spaces and aisles can be no steeper than 1:48 in any direction. If a space sits on a slope, it can be cheaper to move it to a level spot that is still on the shortest accessible route to the entrance than to regrade. No EstiCube calculator prices regrading, so get a paving quote for that work.

ADA.gov says accessible spaces must be on the shortest accessible route of travel to an accessible entrance, and that the route is at least 3 ft wide with a firm, stable, slip-resistant surface. Where that route crosses a curb, the Access Board's guide says ramps and curb ramps are required to span changes in level greater than 1/2 in, with a running slope of 1:12 at most and a cross slope of 1:48 at most. A built-up curb ramp needs a top landing at least 36 in deep and cannot project into parking spaces, access aisles or vehicle traffic lanes, and curb ramps cannot protrude into access aisles.

In the calculator a new curb ramp cut into the curb and sidewalk is $2,500 and a retrofit of an existing ramp is $1,200. One new ramp on its own, with mobilization, comes to $3,000. If the entrance sits above the lot, a route ramp is a bigger job: the Access Board's guide says ramp runs need a clear width of at least 36 in, a rise of no more than 30 in per run, level landings at the top and bottom of each run and handrails on both sides when the rise is greater than 6 in. The calculator prices a concrete route ramp with handrails at $450 per foot, so 12 ft is $5,400 and 20 ft is $9,000. Get a site-specific design before relying on that allowance.

Detectable warnings need care. According to the Access Board's guide, the 2010 Standards require them on curb ramps at transit facilities covered by DOT's standards, and they are not required at non-transit facilities subject to DOJ's standards. The same guide says DOT requires them on curb ramps in projects funded by the Federal Highway Administration, and that the Board's guidelines for public streets and sidewalks address them there. Local codes and project specifications may also ask for them. The calculator prices a panel at $350, so set the panel count from what your project actually requires.

A 60-stall lot needs 3 accessible spaces, one of them van accessible. The restripe-only fix marks those spaces and puts up their signs. Adding two ramps fixes the curb between the spaces and the walk, with a warning panel at each. The full upgrade adds a 12 ft route ramp to reach a raised entrance.

Each scenario can be trimmed. Rebuilding two existing ramps instead of cutting new ones takes the middle scenario to $4,750, and leaving out the panels where they are not required takes it to $6,650. Marking the three spaces without signs adds up to $745, so the $750 minimum job sets that price; pair it with other work rather than calling a crew out for it alone.

A bigger lot needs more accessible spaces, but the ramps and the route ramp do not change with it. So the restripe-only fix grows with the lot while the ramp-heavy scenarios grow only by the cost of the extra spaces and signs. The table keeps the same two ramps, two panels and 12 ft route ramp at every size.

ADA.gov states that when a business or a state or local government restripes a parking lot, it must provide accessible parking spaces as required by the 2010 ADA Standards, and that businesses have a continuing obligation to remove barriers to access in existing parking facilities. It adds that because restriping is relatively inexpensive, it is readily achievable in most cases.

The Access Board's guide says accessible spaces are required where parking facilities are altered or added, and that resurfacing or resealing and projects that add new parking spaces are alterations. It treats normal maintenance, such as repainting the existing striping for a few spaces, as generally not an alteration unless it affects the facility's usability. Either way, a resurfacing, sealcoat or restripe project is the cheapest time to fix the lot, because the crew and the traffic control are already there.

This is general information, not legal advice. Your state or city may add requirements beyond the federal standards, and ADA.gov notes that state or local laws may address the color and manner of marking spaces and aisles. Confirm what applies to your lot with an ADA specialist, your local code office or an attorney.