Sidewalk Slopes
Question:
As I understand it, the running slope of a sidewalk should not exceed 5%. Is there a requirement on how long this running slope can be without a rest [flat] area?
Answer:
Under state and federal law, site designers must follow maximum run requirements for running slopes on sidewalks when providing access to and around buildings and facilities. There are currently no strict guidelines for public sidewalks since the running slope on a public right-of-way is often tied to roadway gradient and underlying terrain.
Under the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (“ADAAG”), the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (“UFAS”), and the Illinois Accessibility Code, site planners must ensure that pedestrian routes located within sites, as opposed to public rights-of-way, provide at least one accessible route from public streets and sidewalks to the accessible building they serve. At least one accessible route also must connect accessible buildings, facilities, and spaces that are on the same site. Any part of an accessible route with a slope greater than 1:20 [5%] is considered a “ramp.” All ramps must have “level landings at bottom and top of each ramp and each ramp run.” See ADAAG 4.8.4 for specifications on landing features. The technical and scoping requirements for ramps are as follows:
- New construction: While the “least possible” slope should be used for any ramp, the maximum slope of a ramp in new construction can be 1:12. The “maximum rise” for any run can be 30 in (760 mm). “If the slope of a ramp is between 1:12 and 1:16, the maximum rise shall be 30 inches (760 mm) and the maximum horizontal run shall be 30 feet (9 m). If the slope of the ramp is between 1:16 and 1:20, the maximum rise shall be 30 inches (760 mm) and the maximum horizontal run shall be 40 feet (12 m).” See ADAAG 4.8.2, Figure 16.
- Alterations to existing buildings and facilities: Curb ramps and interior or exterior ramps to be constructed on sites or in existing buildings or facilities where space limitations prohibit the use of a 1:12 slope or less may have slopes and rises as follows: (i) A slope between 1:10 and 1:12 is allowed for a maximum rise of 6 inches (150 mm) (according to the IDOT, Figure 58-1F, the maximum run in this circumstance may be 5 ft (1.5 m)) ; (ii) A slope between 1:8 and 1:10 is allowed for a maximum rise of 3 inches (75 mm) (according to the IDOT, Figure 58-1F, the maximum run in this circumstance may be 2 ft (600 mm). A slope steeper than 1:8 is not allowed. See ADAAG, Section 4.1.6(3). Alterations to an accessible route of an entrance at qualified historic buildings or facilities may have a ramp with a slope no greater than 1:6 for a run not to exceed 2 feet (610 mm). See ADAAG 4.1.7.
You can find the applicable sources for the above-stated information online at the following websites: ADAAG at http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/#4.8; UFAS (for Federal or federally-funded facilities) at http://www.access-board.gov/ufas/ufas-html/ufas.htm; the Illinois Accessibility Code, 400.510 (e), at http://www.cdb.state.il.us/forms/download/iac.pdf; the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) Bureau of Design & Environment Manual, Special Design Elements at http://www.dot.state.il.us/desenv/bdemanual.html.
Unlike the scoping and technical requirements for sidewalks to be applied during the design, construction, and alteration of buildings and facilities, the state and federal guidelines for sidewalk slopes within public rights-of-way appear fairly flexible. In 1994, the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (“Access Board”) published an Interim Final Rule that contained proposed guidelines for public rights-of-way (proposed Section 14 of the ADAAG, now reserved). However, after receiving public comments, the Access Board withdrew the guidelines to focus on a public awareness campaign aimed at the transportation industry. As part of this effort, the Access Board published a design guide to promote best practices in new sidewalk development and alterations of existing public rights-of-way. In addition, the Access Board convened a committee of transportation and disability experts (the Public Rights of Way Access Advisory Committee or “PROWAAC”) to readdress the issue of sidewalk guidelines and recommend design and technical provisions for newly constructed public rights-of-way that can be adopted under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). See http://www.access-board.gov/PROWAC/draft.htm; Best Practices in Accessible Rights-of-Way Design and Construction, at
http://www.access-board.gov/prowac/guide/PROWGuide.htm#3_2_2.
As mentioned above, the Access Board’s Design Guide offers a good deal of flexibility with regard to running slopes in public rights-of way. Specifically, Section 3.2 states as follows:
On a new site, a knowledgeable designer can often manipulate cut and fill, entrance location, and approach direction and length to limit walkway running slope to 1:20 (5%), adding, where necessary, ramped segments with handrails and landings at or below the 1:12 (8.33%) slope specified in accessibility standards for ramps. These slopes will not be consistently possible to achieve along public sidewalks and shared-use paths, where running slope is tied to roadway gradient and underlying terrain. Nevertheless, running slope should be kept to the minimum feasible consistent with these factors. Artificial slopes should not be added as landscaping features, nor should meandering walkways that add significantly to the travel distance be permitted on a primary circulation route.
Level runouts can provide access to entrances located along sloping sidewalks [. . .] Alternatively, a wider sidewalk can accommodate the blending room necessary for a transition to the level landing required at entrances. Parallel ramps may also be used to provide access to existing raised entrances constructed originally with steps [ . . . ] Stairs may connect diverging sidewalk levels, as long as a stair-free route is also available.
Like the federal Access Board, the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”) recommends that sidewalks on non-accessible routes along public rights-of-way meet the same ramp slope criteria for accessible routes to buildings and facilities. However, the IDOT similarly provides that planners should be given some flexibility “to meet the adjacent roadway conditions and to provide practical designs.” See IDOT Section 58-1.06(b). Likewise, in its guidance for the design and construction of accessible pedestrian sidewalks, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (“FHWA”), recommends that public sidewalk designers provide level landings at “regular intervals” if the sidewalk grade exceeds five (5) percent. See Designing Sidewalks and Trails, Part II, Best Practices Design Guide at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/sidewalk2/sidewalks2.
Question:
I am an attorney representing a client that is buying an existing commercial space, a restaurant. The Village of Clarendon Hills has indicated that there is an ADA issue dealing with the area between the bar and the wall. This is not a space for the public, but rather a space for employees. The entrance and approach point for the bar is 36" wide and the rest of the area behind the bar is 30".
I have previously contacted the federal ADA division regarding the question and they cited paragraph 4.1.1 from Part 36 - Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities. I wanted to verify that the state has a similar provision. The federal ADA specialist indicated that based on what I described the bar did not create an ADA issue because the entrance point was 36". The Village will not issue a permit without compliance being verified by the Illinois ADA.
Answer:
Thank you for your question. We should first clarify that the Illinois ADA Project is not an official state agency and may not certify compliance with the ADA. The Illinois ADA Project is funded by the DBTAC-Great Lakes ADA Center to provide ADA information to individuals and private and public organizations throughout Illinois. We have, however, identified the appropriate source for your requisite verification, and provided our informal agreement with whomever you have previously contacted that the bar’s width comports with current state and federal accessibility requirements.
The Environmental Barriers Act (“EBA”) is the Illinois statute that governs physical access for people with disabilities in new construction, additions and alterations to public facilities. See 410 ILCS 25/1. The Illinois Accessibility Code (“IAC”), which has the force of a building code, is the set of rules adopted by the Capital Development Board designed to implement the EBA. See 71 Ill. Admin. Code 400.100; http://www.cdb.state.il.us/forms/download/iac.pdf. As we will describe below, the requirements under the EBA for the entrance and approach points of a restaurant bar mirror the language of the ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (“ADAAG”), the design requirements under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). See http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/. Thus, because the EBA, by statute, gives interpretive authority to the Capital Development Board, “certification” by the Capital Development Board should satisfy the Village.
To this end, we spoke directly with the Capital Development Board on your behalf. To verify that the bar width is EBA (and, therefore, ADA) compliant, please contact the following individual: Doug Gamble, Accessibility Specialist, William G. Stratton Building, 401 S. Spring St., Third Floor, Stratton Bldg, Springfield, IL 62706; Doug.Gamble@Illinois.gov; Phone: 217-782-2684, Fax: 217-524-4208. Mr. Gamble can either email/fax you a formal response, or sign and stamp a hard copy if needed, to use as approval authority for the Village code official.
As we indicated above, we agree that a 36-inch entrance and approach point for the area behind a restaurant bar would comport with the accessibility requirements for employees under the ADA and EBA. Because the ADA and EBA cover commercial facilities, workspaces used only for employees are also covered. However, the language of the ADAAG and IAC state merely that areas that are used only as work areas may be designed and constructed so that individuals with disabilities can approach, enter, and exit the areas. The current guidelines do not require that any areas used only as work areas be constructed to permit maneuvering within the work area.
See ADAAG 4.1.1(3): “Areas Used Only by Employees as Work Areas. Areas that are used only as work areas shall be designed and constructed so that individuals with disabilities can approach, enter, and exit the areas. These guidelines do not require that any areas used only as work areas be constructed to permit maneuvering within the work area or be constructed or equipped (i.e., with racks or shelves) to be accessible.”
See IAC 400.330(3) “Employee Work Areas: Areas that are used only by employees as work areas shall be designed and constructed so that individuals with disabilities can approach, enter, and exit the areas. Areas used only as work areas are not required to be constructed to permit maneuvering within the work area or to be constructed or equipped (i.e., with racks or shelves) to be accessible. (ADAAG 4.1.1(3))”
Under both the IAC and ADAAG, the minimum clear passage width for a single wheelchair shall be 36 inches (915 mm) minimum along an accessible route, but may be reduced to 32 inches (815 mm) minimum at a point for a maximum depth of 24 inches (610 mm), such as at a doorway. This means, essentially, that a wheelchair can enter the door to the work area and have a thirty (30) inch by forty-eight (48) inch space just inside the door opening. There is no requirement for turn-around space, specific door hardware or latch side clearance on the work area side, etc. A person in a wheelchair without further access would have to back out.
See ADAAG 4.2.1: “The minimum clear width for single wheelchair passage shall be 32 in (815 mm) at a point and 36 in (915 mm) continuously (see Fig. 1 and 24(e)).”
See IAC Section 400.220: “The minimum clear width for single wheelchair passage shall be 32 in. (815 mm) at a point and 36 in. (915 mm) continuously (see Illustration B, Fig. 1 and 24(e)). (ADAAG 4.2.1)”
