If you haven’t updated or repaired your pavement in a few years, your sidewalk may be out of date and not in compliance with The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
If you haven’t updated or repaired your pavement in a few years, your sidewalk may be out of date and not in compliance with The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). If damages are caused, you will be found at fault, and it can lead to a nasty lawsuit, and the injury of others. After all, we have regulations for a reason! To find out if your sidewalk is up to code, or if you need maintenance done, read on.
Common regulations
Below are some rules that you may expect, and which are simple to check quickly.
- Width. Newer sidewalks should actually be at least 5 feet across. Of course, older sidewalks with expensive space restraints can be smaller, but they must be at least 3 feet across.
- Trip hazards. There should be no unevenness that can be measured more that ¼”. Anything more than that is considered a hazard and needs immediate repair.
- Slope. A single segment of concrete can only be raised by 30%. In between each segment that rises 30%, there should be 5” of space in between of flat surface. Also, the slope needs to be the same as the roadway slope.
- Obstructions. There shouldn’t be anything, like light poles or fire hydrants, directly in the way of pedestrian traffic that would obstruct their path.
A good rule of thumb for any sidewalk is to always consider wheelchair access. Could a wheelchair fit on your sidewalk? Could a person in a wheelchair successfully travel up the slope of your sidewalk? If not, your pavement isn’t ADA compliant.
Less Commonly Known Regulations
- Grates. Grate spacing must not exceed ½” in width. This would allow for wheels of strollers and wheelchairs to get caught and potentially cause injury.
- Entrances. The cross slope of a walkway and an entrance should be 2% or less–the walkway must also be at least 3’ across. Here, you should focus on making sure vehicles don’t bottom out when traveling over the slope.
- Pushbuttons. Your pushbutton must not be installed higher than 42” off the ground. It must also not require more that five pounds of pressure per square inch to operate. There needs to be an accessible ramp at every push button for easy wheelchair and stroller access.
Find out more about pavement regulations here.
Do you need pavement repair? Call PTG Enterprises today.
We are always concerned with safety at PTG Enterprises. If you think your pavement may need repairs to make it ADA compliant, contact us today. We can assure you that your concrete will be completely hazard-free.
We understand–it’s difficult to keep pavement up-to-date. High traffic areas can make this virtually impossible. With PTG Enterprises, you can fix that. When you hire PTG, you’ll work with Patrick Gillen from start to finish. This process begins with an initial site visit, a pre-construction meeting and setting expectations for the client and crew.
To learn more about Mill and Pave, please contact PTG Enterprises today by calling 410-636-8777! You can check us out on Facebook and Twitter as well!
