|
|
|
|
|
|
Volume V Number 8 August 2010 | | On the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act July 26, 2010 President Obama announced that the ADA design guidelines have been amended per the Access Board recommendations of 2004.
|
|
| | These new guidelines will not be in effect for another six months. And then it will not be mandatory for anoter 18 months. This allows designers and building owners to not change rules in mid stream. If they are already designing or building in the next 18 months, they have the choice to use the 1991 version rather than the 2010 version.
For buildings that are already compliant with the 1991 ADAAG, they will have a safe horbour to remain compliant until such time as the building gets remodeled.
|
|
 |
| Sign up to receive our E-news letter!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Summary of Scoping Changes |
The Department of Justice has adopted the changes and here is a brief summary:
1) The first major change is the format of the guidelines. The chapters are now organized and numbered similar to the ANSI guidelines. There are 10 chapters altogether, where the first two discuss the scoping for both the Americans with Disabilities Act Guidelines and the Architectural Barriers Act Guidelines. The remaining chapters take the elements that are scoped and give you guidance on how to design and construct for accessibility. The summary of changes will address each part and each chapter with its corresponding section.
2) The Appendix was deleted and they became "advisory notes" found in gray boxes throughout the text
3) Provisions for accessible means of egress are completely revised in the final rule. In the final rule, the Board has directly referenced the scoping and technical requirements in the International Building Code for accessible means of egress. All technical criteria for accessible means of egress (Section 409), including areas of refuge (Section 410), were removed in the final rule.
4) Minimum number of parking spaces required to be accessible remain the same except for the amount of van accessible spaces required increased to one per every six spaces rather than one per eight
5) Scoping now includes
-
Correctional facilities,
-
Residential facilities Amusement rides (Section 234)
-
Recreational boating facilities (Section 235)
-
Exercise machines (Section 236)
-
Fishing piers and platforms (Section 237)
-
Golf facilities (Section 238)
-
Miniature golf facilities (Section 239)
-
Play areas (Section 240)
-
Saunas and steam rooms (Section 241)
-
Swimming pools, wading pools, and spas (Section 242)
-
Shooting facilities with firing positions (Section 243)
There are also chapters that encompass the ABA application and scoping provides information about guidelines for facilities that are designed, built, altered, or leased with federal funds.
Stay tuned for our next newsletters where we speak more in detail about the technical changes |
| Inspector's Corner |
As an TAS inspector in Texas, this will be an interesting time of transition. These changes won't take mandatory effect for another 18 months. This should give each state the opportunity to review and adopt (or not) the new Guidelines. In the mean time there will be an overlap and questions will arise on which standard or guideline to use. Contact your ADA official or RAS for guidance.
|
Join us for our book launching happy hour on August 26, 2010 at 5:30 at Veritas Wine Bar in Dallas.
If you have any questions about these or any other topics, please feel free to contact me anytime.
Sincerely,
Marcela Abadi Rhoads, RAS #240
Abadi Accessibility
214. 403.8714
|
|
|
