Awkward Accessible Parking Spaces in a Commercial Parking Lot
Commercial Parking Lot Accessible Corner Parking
Recently on a road trip through New Orleans I came across some awkward accessible parking spaces in a commercial parking lot. See the photo on the right. In this installation two accessible parking spaces are installed in a corner of this commercial parking lot and at a 90 degrees angle to each other, shown with red arrows. A large square access aisle is shared by the two parking spaces and shown with a yellow arrow. The concept is OK but the installation has a problem. The photo below shows another corner of this parking lot where two vehicles are using the two accessible spaces. What’s wrong?
Two Accessible Parking Spaces with a Shared Access Area
ANSWER: Look how close the two rear corners of the cars are to each other. The photo below shows this same issue from behind the cars. The arrow shows the close proximity the cars have if one needs to back out of its parking space.
Short Corner Accessible Parking Spaces with Cramped Proximity
So how did this happen? The photo below has the answer. The lengths of the parking spaces are very short, barely the length of a small SUV, or about 15 feet.
Short (15’) Commercial Parking Spaces
The normal parking space length is 18 feet. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not cover the required length of a vehicle parking space. So by making these parking spaces approximately 15 feet in length, the parking space operator is able to cram in more parking spaces on the lot, which of course means more revenue.
So this is a building code issue, not an ADA issue. Although this building code violation causes significant problems for individuals with disabilities because of the accessible parking space design.
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