EDITOR’S NOTE: Apologies in advance! This article is meant as a primer which will be linked back to in coming articles on ADA violations in New Rochelle schools. It’s a bit dry, heavy on jargon and numbers. Just keep in mind this is meant as an article to refer back to in future articles.
NEW ROCHELLE, NY — When the City School District of New Rochelle agreed to enter into a Consent Decree after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in White Plains, NY, Talk of the Sound embarked on its own study of the District’s compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The results were disturbing. Not a single school in New Rochelle is even remotely in compliance with the ADA for Curb Ramps, Access Ramps and Parking Spaces. In one case, an access ramp constructed at New Rochelle High School to settle a separate civil rights case against the District was reported to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights as compliant when it was not even close to compliant.
Our study was limited to looking at exterior wheelchair access — sidewalks, ramps and parking lots –at the District’s 10 school buildings.
The Talk of the Sound study was based on the ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments made available at the ADA.com web site. The materials to guide surveyors are designed so that even those with little or no knowledge of accessibility or experience surveying can complete the process of surveying elements in a step-by-step manner.
The primary tools used were a Craftsman Digital LaserTrac Level and a Stanley MaxSteel 25′ tape measure. Using these tools, each Curb Ramp, Accessible Parking Space and Access Aisle at all 10 schools was measured (often multiple times), every parking space in each parking lot was counted along with each Accessible Parking Space, Van Accessible Parking Space and Access Aisle and signage.
The ADA Curb Ramp Survey Form measures the following:
- Is ramp of Curb Ramp at least 36″ wide (not including flared sides)?
- Does Curb Ramp have a running slope of 8.33 degrees or less?
- Does Curb Ramp have a Cross slope of 2 degrees or less?
- Does Curb Ramp have a gutter slope of 5 degrees or less?
- Are transitions on and off Curb Ramp flush and 5 free of abrupt level changes?
- Does Curb Ramp have detectable warnings?
- Can Curb Ramp be blocked by legally parked cars?
- Is the sidewalk at the “top” of Curb Ramp at least 36″ wide?
- Does Curb Ramp have flared sides?
- If the sidewalk at the “top” of Curb Ramp is 48″ wide or more, is the slope of the flared sides 10 degrees or less?
- If the sidewalk at the “top” of Curb Ramp is less than 48″ wide, is the slope of the flared sides 8.33 degrees or less?
- If no flared sides, is there an obstruction or grass on each side of Curb Ramp that discourages pedestrians from traveling a Curb Ramp ramp?
If the Curb Ramp has flared sides, skip this question.
- If Curb Ramp is built-up to the curb, is it outside the path of cars?
- Is ramp of Curb Ramp contained in markings?
If corner-type Curb Ramp, is bottom landing at least 48″ long and contained in Crosswalk? If not corner-type Curb Ramp, skip this question.
Although we checked everything item in the Curb Ramp survey form, for the sake of clarity we will report survey results with a focus on five particular items from the survey form: Curb Ramps where Running Slope is not less than 8.33 degrees; Curb Ramps where Gutter Slope is not less than 5 degrees; Curb Ramps where the Transitions are not Flush and/or Curb Ramps where where the Slope of Flared Sides (if any) less than is not 10 degrees.
Under ADA ramps should not exceed a 1:12 ratio – every inch of rise needs 12 inches of ramp (5 degrees slope); ADA ramps addressing more than 6 inches should have handrails; ADA ramps exceeding 30 feet must have an intermediate platform; ADA ramps must have side flanges of 2 inches or more to prevent accidental slipping from the edge; ADA ramps and platforms must have nonskid surfaces and be designed to prevent water accumulation.
We created our own Access Ramp survey form for purposes of this study. Although we checked everything item in the survey form, for the sake of clarity survey are results are focused on the slope of the ramp, the distance before/after intermediate platforms (if applicable), whether there are appropriate handrails.
The ADA Parking Lots Brief describes the following measurements:
Accessible Parking Spaces for Cars and Vans
Under ADA, accessible parking spaces for cars have at least a 60-inch-wide access aisle located adjacent to the designated parking space (two parking spaces may share an access aisle). These parking spaces must be identified with a sign — posted 5 feet above the ground — and a second sign that identifies the parking spaces as “van accessible” and the parking spaces must be located on level ground. There must be vertical clearance to accommodate van height at the van parking space and there must be vehicular route to and from the van-accessible space. Van-accessible parking spaces have at least a 96-inch-wide access aisle located adjacent to the designated parking space (two parking spaces may share an access aisle). These parking spaces must be identified with a sign — posted 5 feet above the ground — and the parking spaces must be located on level ground.
For every 25 spots in a parking lot, there must be 1 Accessible Parking Space and for every 8 Accessible Parking Spaces there must be 1 Van-Accessible Parking Space so there must always be at least 1 Van-Accessible Parking Space in every lot.
We created our own Accessible Parking survey form for purposes of this study. Although we checked every item in the survey form, for the sake of clarity survey are results are focused on counting Total Parking Spaces, Accessible Parking Space, Van-Accessible Parking Space in each lot, whether there was an Access Aisle, whether the Access Aisle for Accessible Parking Spaces was at least 60 inches and Van-Accessible Parking Space were at least 96 inches, whether there were appropriate Accessible and Van-Accessible Parking Space Signs.
Again, this is a lot to digest in one sitting for the typical reader so be prepared to refer back to in our upcoming series of articles on ADA violations in New Rochelle schools. We will provide a link back to this article in each article in the series for easy reference.